#merton x oc

[blairsanne]

In the Cards (17)

Big Wolf on Campus fanfic. Merton x OC. [Tommy also gets some pairings.]

Chapter Summary: Kalida is let down by her parents, and when Tommy and Merton try to cheer her up, the trio encounter an enemy that they've already lost to in the past. Kalida struggles with her fears as they do their best to tackle the problem at hand. 8690 words Previous Chapters: 1&2, 3&4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16

CW: Family dynamics. Guns. Discussion of prior events witnessing a death (in another reality). Injury. The usual level of violence from the show while fighting monsters.

Chapter 17: Distress

Tommy held the receiver to his chest and grinned at Kalida. "It's for you, Kal. Your ma."

Kalida quickly excused herself from the table and took the phone excitedly. "Hey mom." She leaned into the wall and spoke quietly. "Yeah, I'm really looking forward to seeing y- hm?"

Tommy sat back down at the table and popped a brussel sprout in his mouth, glancing at his parents. The three of them exchanged a knowing look to be quiet while Kalida took the calls from her parents.

Tommy looked over to see Kalida holding the receiver tightly. Something about her body language was off.

"But I haven't seen you at all since I moved here…" She glanced over at Tommy, making brief eye contact before turning to face away. "I… yeah… I guess that's more important… Okay… Okay… Love you too. Bye."

She slowly put the receiver back on the hook, and shuffled back to her seat, eyes never leaving the floor.

Sally forced a cheery tone. "So dear, how's your mother?" "She's fine." Kalida stared at her dinner plate, hands folded on her lap. Her voice was flat and soft. "Dad's work got really busy, so they can't make it out here right now. But, they're gonna try to come for the grad ceremony."

Tommy put his cutlery down, unsure of what to say. Kalida had been talking about this visit for weeks. Sally pursed her lips. "That's a real shame. I know how much you were looking forward to seeing them." Bob frowned. "I thought you were going to go dress shopping for prom?"

Kalida shrugged her shoulders as thick tears rolled over her cheeks. "It's not a big deal." Tommy reached his hand out on the table. "Kal."

Kalida wiped at her face. "Can I be excused?" "Of course, dear."

Tommy made his way upstairs after having done the dinner dishes. He knocked softly on Kalida's door. "It's just me." "Come in."

He opened the door to see her sitting up from her bed and pulling headphones from her ears. He shut the door behind him. "Hey." She shrugged. "Hey." He sat on the end of her bed and raised his eyebrows. "So… That sucks."

Kalida nodded. "Oh well. Nothing to do about it now." "I probably won't be much help, but if you wanted someone else to go dress shopping with, I'm usually free…" She let out a hollow laugh. "I appreciate the offer. But that's not really…" She pulled her knees up against her chest and sighed. "I just wanted to see them."

Tommy nodded. "I know, Kal." "It's like they don't even care anymore. They don't want to have a daughter anymore." "I'm sure that's not true."

She was quiet for a moment, avoiding eye contact, then shrugged. "Whatever. It's fine." "Kalida…" Tommy moved over and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against his chest. "It's okay to be upset about it."

She leaned against him and closed her eyes. "I'm just tired of being upset about them, though. I know they're not, like, conventional all the time, but they've never flaked out on me like this before. Not just this, but sending me here… Any way you look at it, I'm just not a priority for them now. Maybe Uncle Bob is right about my parents."

Tommy frowned and rubbed her back, unsure what to say. He couldn't exactly relate to being abandoned by your parents. If anything, I'd like to get out from under them soon.

Kalida closed her eyes as she felt them well up with tears again. "Look, I don't know what's going on with your parents, but you always have a family here, okay?" "Thanks Tommy." She sniffed and tried to compose herself. "And um… I'm really sorry, about Joelle." "I know." He sighed. "And I don't blame you. You were just trying to protect me. Well, us, I guess."

She looked up at him, wiping her face. "I know you liked her." "I did." He looked away. "But… I think what I really liked was the idea of being able to… just be normal. You know? And that kind of went out the window when she started threatening all of us." "You'll find someone better." He made a non-commital noise. "I really believe it. Even if you're always a werewolf, I think you can still be happy, and loved." He put his hand on her head, not able to make eye contact. "Thanks, Kal."

A group of teenagers were hiking in the mountains in the fading evening light.

One of the boys stopped and called out to his friends ahead on the trail. "Hold up, there's a ledge here!"

The group collectively sighed and laughed. One of the girls in the group called back. "Okay, but we can't stop long if we're gonna be back by dark."

The boy grinned and began climbing up the craggy rock surface. His foot slipped as the rock beneath it crumbled, but he managed to hold on and make it up. He wiped his hands on his jeans and pulled a camera out of his bag, pointing it down the mountain at the town below.

"Wow, Pleasantville looks pretty cool from up here," he murmured, snapping several shots. When he was done, he found a path for himself to climb down closer to where his friends were waiting on the trail. When he joined up with them, the group wandered off together, talking and laughing.

Back where the boy had been climbing, the rocks began to rumble. Bits of debris peppered the ground below until finally a large stinger struck through the clay-like cliff face.

Kalida wiped down the surface of her table inside her camper, then set out an incense holder and lit a stick of sandalwood incense. As the smoke wafted lazily about the small space, she pulled the sheets from her bed and remade it with freshly-laundered ones. She kicked her shoes off and climbed onto it, crossing her legs. Closing her eyes, she tried to clear her mind.

It was lunch time and she had started off by trying to review her flashcards for Chem, but she hadn't been able to focus at all. The news from her parents had upset her, but she had a sense of foreboding overtop of her frustration that she just couldn't seem to shake.

She whispered some requests for guidance and protection to her guides, then opened her eyes and pulled out her tarot deck.

"A little clarity about what's going on with me…?"

She shuffled the deck for a bit, half-procrastinating and half for practical reasons.

With trepidation, she laid out the first card. The Eight of Cups, reversed. Stagnation and clouded judgement. Great. She tapped her chin, trying to think what else the reverse was supposed to mean. Not being effective… like… self sabotage and seclusion. She looked around the empty camper. It was true, she could have been hanging out with Tommy and Merton. Or have made more friends if she'd tried. Is this because I haven't decided where to go after grad? She rubbed her arm, feeling judged by her cards.

She pulled the next card. The Five of Cups, reversed. Another reversed card. She chewed her lip. This one is normally the idea of crying over spilled milk, so… the opposite. Picking up the pieces of a bad situation and moving on. Learning, rebuilding.

She tilted her head to the side. Better.

She pulled a final card, half-expecting it to also be upside down. The Six of Swords. This one is… moving away from a previous situation. Maybe a place where your skills aren't being used… and… learning from your mistakes. Knowing when to move on.

She let out a big sigh and flopped back onto the bed, letting her tarot cards slide around from the movement. "So I'm being useless, need to pull my shit together, and let go of something that's not doing me any good." She covered her eyes with her arm. It's not my fault I'm upset about my parents not coming out. It sucks.

She rolled over and looked out at the interior of her camper. It was like a tiny home she'd brought with her from Canada, but even Betsy felt different now. She thought of all the times she'd followed the hearse in it, and remembered the time it got dented in the alternate reality.

Maybe it's not about that at all… "Maybe it's time to admit I'm not going home to BC."

She pulled her backpack closer without sitting up and fished out a granola bar. She ate it, still lying on her side, and let herself wallow in her feelings of frustration and grief.

When the bell for class rang, she let out a small whine. "I could just be a normal teenager and skip class for no good reason. I could just take a nap and feel sorry for myself…"

Still, she zipped up her backpack and rushed to get back into the building. Like Uncle Bob wouldn't try to ground me from taking my camper to school.

Kalida wrung the mop out in the Dawkins kitchen. Seeing the water change to a slightly dingy color, she felt a pang of satisfaction and set to work on the next section of the floor.

Tommy walked in from the hallway. "Kal. Really?" He raised a brow. "What?" she asked defensively, shrinking a bit as she continued to mop. "You already cleared the table, cleaned the counters, did all the dishes, and swept… At some point you gotta call the kitchen clean and move on." "I like cleaning," she mumbled.

Tommy leaned in the doorway and crossed his arms. "Okay, well, I thought you might want to go out with Merton and I. You know… lighten up?" Kalida scrunched her face to the side. It didn't sound not fun. "What are we gonna do?" "We could… get some ice cream, maybe go sit up at the lookout. What do you want to do?" "I dunno." She finished up with the mop and wrung it out once more. "I guess anything is fine."

"You sure you don't want to lecture me about studying?" She laughed. "Well, you should study. But, you're right. I could use something a little more fun than that tonight." Tommy grinned and rubbed his hands together conspiratorially. "Leave it to me."

Kalida slipped on her shoes, then pulled on a light hoodie. "It's not gonna be that cold tonight, right? This is enough?"

Tommy snorted. "Yeah, should be fine." He was wearing a long-sleeved t-shirt. He unhooked his letterman jacket and draped it over his arm, gesturing with it. "I've been thinking about getting something less bulky."

Kalida smirked. "But then how will all the ladies know that you're a football player?"

Tommy rolled his eyes, but smiled as he looked away. She's kind of right.

Kalida took her wallet and key lanyard out of her purse and shoved them into the front pockets of her hoodie. "So… thanks for taking me out and stuff." "Oh. Yeah. No problem." Tommy rubbed the top of head patronizingly. "Don't," she whined, moving away to fix her hair.

They heard a car pull into the driveway. Kalida opened the front door and grinned back at Tommy. "Let's go."

Kalida ate spoonfuls of her strawberry sundae, sandwiched comfortably between Merton and Tommy in the front of the hearse.

"Ice cream was a good choice," she commended Tommy. She couldn't help but snicker as he dipped a chicken tender into his sundae, eating them together.

They were driving up the now-familiar mountain road to the lookout.

Merton glanced over at Kalida, then back at the road. Tommy had told him about the phone call from Kalida's parents, but she hadn't brought it up at all. "How'd your Chem test go?"

Kalida shrugged. "It was pretty easy, actually. I think the teacher might have given up on some of the other students." She finished her last bite of sundae and tossed the empty cup into the takeout bag at Tommy's feet. "He was explaining equilibrium in chemical equations, comparing it to a set of scales, where the equals symbol is the fulcrum, right?"

Tommy narrowed his eyes at her in confusion as she continued. Merton nodded along.

"And several minutes later, I guess Joey caught up to writing that down off the board, and he flips out, asking what a fulcrum is." She shook her head. "Completely derailed the point of the lecture." Merton smiled to himself. "Hopefully your post-secondary peers are a little more respectful of the lesson plan."

She rubbed her arm, feeling awkward at the sudden reminder. The three of them had been more or less ignoring the topic of what college each would be attending.

Tommy looked over at Merton. "Did you actually understand what she was talking about?" Merton shrugged. "Yeah, sure. It's just like a math equation. Both sides have to add up to the same thing." Kalida grinned. "Exactly." "Oh." Tommy thought a moment. "I guess that does kind of make sense. Anyway Kal, what is a fulcrum?"

Merton crawled into the back of the hearse and started rooting around. He tossed a few blankets towards the doors as his friends positioned themselves on either side of the outside edge.

Kalida pulled one of the blankets toward her, knowing that eventually she'd feel cold sitting out in the night air. She looked down at the twinkling lights of the town below them and felt a pang of sadness. She had wanted to show this to her parents. To share with them the small place that she'd started to think of as home.

Merton shuffled toward the back and swung his legs over the edge, pulling a large plastic sack onto his lap. "Okay, let's see what we've got." He handed Tommy a YooHoo and a pack of beef jerky. Tommy laughed, quite pleased. "Thanks, man." "And for Kalida…" Merton pulled out another YooHoo. "More sugar?" she teased, but cracked it open. "Don't Americans ever drink water?"

Merton gave her a stink face. "Excuse you, I just gifted you the nectar of the gods." "Ah yes," she nodded before taking a sip. "What was I thinking?" "And I also got you these." He handed her a pack of candy.

She gasped and opened it up straight away. "It's still a lot of sugar, but thank youuu." She poured several of the small red licorice pieces into her hand and shoved them in her mouth. It tasted like childhood. "I wove Nibv." "I know." Merton smirked to himself as he pulled his blanket over his lap. He looked up at the sky, thinking how late it must be by now with so many stars out.

Tommy swallowed a mouthful of beef jerky. "This is nice." He let some tension out of his shoulders and relaxed against the doorframe. "I feel like we haven't all been hanging out like this for a bit." Kalida threw one of her Nibs at him. "Whose fault is that?" Tommy snickered, batting it away. "I just got… distracted." Merton cracked open his YooHoo. "How's things since she left?"

"I dunno." Tommy shrugged. "I think maybe now's not the best time to start dating someone else, but… I kinda feel like, I know I can do it, now. You know?" Kalida nodded. "Cause you've got more control over wolfing out?" Tommy nodded. "Yeah." Merton took another sip of his drink, mulling it over. "So you gonna be our third wheel at prom?"

"Oh, Merton, don't say it like that," Kalida chastised. She looked over at Tommy. "It won't be as fun without you." Tommy shrugged. "Yeah, I'll go with you guys." He smirked. "Just make sure it's obvious whose date you are, Merton." He pushed his friend's shoulder. He laughed. "What, no couples portraits?"

Kalida took a long drink of the YooHoo, feeling a tightness in her chest. She looked over to the left, but realized she couldn't see anything through the door. She put down her snacks and stood, looking around the dim clearing.

"What's up?" "I dunno…" she said uneasily. "I just thought I heard something." She sat down and looked back over at the boys. "You have your suits picked out yet?" "Yeah, I ordered mine online. Should be here any day." "I think my parents are gonna take me next weekend to pick it out." Kalida nodded. "Nice."

Tommy rubbed his arm. "If you want someone to go dress shopping with-" "Yeah, I'll let you know." She looked out at the sleepy hamlet. "I guess I'll probably have to go out of town."

Merton piped up. "There's a big bridal shop a few towns over. Lots of people go there for their prom stuff. They keep things in stock, so you don't have to wait for it to come in." "How do you know that?" Tommy asked. "My mom took me out there last month to look at tuxes, but I didn't like any of them."

Tommy perked up suddenly, staring into space a moment. "Be quiet a sec." He stood up and tried to listen for the sound again.

Merton scoffed. "What like you two are actually hearing something out here? It's probably an animal." Tommy rolled his eyes. "Would you just let me listen?" Kalida and Merton both stood out the back to listen, looking around silently.

There it was again. Something rustling to the east. Tommy pointed at the tree line of the clearing and they all turned to watch as they heard the sound grow closer and closer. A scuttling, crunching sound.

Kalida shivered. She didn't know why the sound felt so familiar and ominous.

Finally it emerged from the bushes, on the other end of the clearing from them. A half man, half scorpion creature stared back at them with dull eyes that glowed a faint orange.

"Get in the car. We have to go." Kalida pulled their arms. "Now!"

The three of them pulled shut the doors of the hearse as the scorpion monster moved its massive black legs through the dirt and gravel of the clearing. They climbed awkwardly over the front seat and Merton started up the engine as Tommy locked the door, wolfing out.

He stared out at the creature that was closing the distance between them, practically smelling the fear emanating from his friends. They punched into drive and sped down the poorly lit mountain road, back to the highway.

"Okay, what the hell was that?!" Tommy asked finally. Merton was still speeding down the road back toward his house. He glanced over at Kalida, who looked like her brain had gone offline. Her face was pale, eyes unfocused.

It's going to kill him again.

Merton's voice was quick but composed. "Kali? You okay?" "W-what?" She snapped back to reality. "I said, what the hell was that thing?" Tommy repeated. "I uh…" Kalida shook her head. "I don't know. We never really found out what it was called. It's just… really dangerous." "What do you mean? You've seen it before?"

Kalida's eyes widened as she realized that she had never actually told Tommy about her time in the alternate reality. Merton didn't want me to mention that Stacey girl, so it just seemed easier not to bring it up at all…

Merton was all business. "Tommy, you gotta dewolf. We're about to hit town." Tommy looked between his friends, wondering what he'd missed as he closed his eyes to go back to normal.

"Okay, so, we're gonna need long range weapons," Kalida ran her hand through her hair, looking panicked as they entered the lair. "Right. Keep our distance, preferably not destroy our vehicles." Merton agreed. "Right, I'd forgotten about that."

Tommy cleared his throat as he locked the door behind them. "Hello?! Anyone going to explain to me what just happened?"

Kalida blinked. "We… saw a monster?" Tommy frowned. "Okay, but we see monsters all the time. You two are being super weird. Why do you know about this thing already?" Merton looked over at Kalida. "Do you wanna tell him…?" Kalida shrugged. "It's like, a super long story." Tommy narrowed his eyes. "But you've seen it before? You know how to deal with it?"

"Well, last time we used Uncle Bob's rifle to shoot it in the head." "Last time?" "Well, Merton's weapons really sucked-" "In my defense, I wasn't exactly using them for anything other than decorative purposes." Kalida pulled a face. "You weren't even you. Why are you getting defensive?"

"Hey!" Tommy yelled at them to get their attention. "Could you two start making sense?"

Kalida sighed. "Okay, so one time, I was really upset, and I wished that you weren't a werewolf. Okay? And then it actually happened. And the world was super weird." "Oh," Tommy nodded in understanding. "Been there." "Oh." Kalida blinked, surprised at how readily Tommy had accepted the first part of her story.

"Alright. So.. yeah, in the other reality," She started babbling. "You guys didn't fight monsters together, so when this thing attacked me, I didn't know what to do, and I went to Merton, and he didn't know what to do either, and then we got Uncle Bob's gun, and you were like, hey, don't do that, so then you came with us, and then we fought the thing-" She stopped abruptly, looking like she might start crying. She looked over at Merton with big, wet eyes.

He put a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, I'm fine." "Well, so, okay, you fought it. You shot it with a rifle, and it died?" Merton nodded. "Yeah." "But…" Kalida's expression was pained. She didn't want to say it out loud. "But it was tough?" "Yeah. But… in the other reality, when we fought it…"

Merton patted Kalida's shoulder. "The other me died." "Oh." Tommy rubbed the back of his neck. "Okay, so, let's not do that part." "Agreed," Merton laughed uncomfortably. "Uhh, so let's form a plan of attack."

"Do you have any guns in your collection?" "Tommy, you know I don't like guns. Flamethrowers? Sure. Crossbows? Thematic. Bullets?" He held his hand out flat, palm down, and shook it. "Ehhhhh." Kalida looked over at Tommy. "We could go get Bob's." "Do you know how dead we would be if my dad caught us taking his gun?"

Kalida winced. "I know. The timing is all wrong this time." "Timing?" "Well, cuz, last time your parents were out of town. Instead of that party that happened at our house in real life, you had your stupid girlfriend over for what I can only assume was her first time."

Tommy furrowed his brow. That party had been before Joelle moved to town, and he doubted he was her first. "What stupid girlfriend did I have?" "It doesn't matter. What matters is that your parents are home right now, so we can't sneak the rifle."

Merton's clock chimed the Michael Myers fanfare from Halloween.

"It's so late…" Kalida murmured. She tried to estimate how long it would take them to gather materials, make their plan, sneak into and out of the Dawkins house, get back up the mountain, and kill the monster.

Tommy thought a moment and snapped his fingers. "Tomorrow. They're going to that play. They'll be gone all night." "So, what, we just leave it for tonight? What if it kills someone?" Tommy shook his head. "Kal, it's not gonna kill anyone." She gestured at their pale friend. "It killed Merton!" "That didn't really happen, though."

"You don't get it Tommy! It put its stinger thing," she gestured at her chest, "right through him. I watched him bleed out. It put a dent in my camper, and it totally fucked up the hearse. It's not just a.. a wimpy monster you can punch a few times."

Tommy ran his hands over his face. "We can't get it tonight. It's gonna be curfew soon, there's no way my parents won't notice us going into the basement, or driving off." Merton drummed his fingers on the desk. "We just don't have the right equipment tonight, or enough time." Kalida looked between them, eyes wet again. "We have to kill it." "We will."

"Seriously. I had nightmares about it for weeks. And now it's back, and we're just letting it wander around. What if it gets to town? What if it hurts someone?" Tommy put his hands on her shoulders. "It's up at the lookout. You know how dead it is up there. Chances are, it's hunting squirrels or something and nobody's gonna be up there before we can get to it." "You don't know that."

Tommy hunched his shoulder up. "What do you want me to do, Kali?! We can't just go punch it up, right? You want a gun, we can't get it 'til tomorrow. So that's the way it is." Her shoulders slumped and she looked at the ground. "Yeah. Okay."

"It'll be okay, Kal," Merton rubbed her back reassuringly. "We're more experienced than the guys in that other reality. And we've got your past experience to help us know how to fight it." "Y-yeah… I guess so."

Tommy rubbed the back of his neck. So much for cheering Kali up.

Tommy found Merton at their usual table the next day at lunch. He sat down with his tray and nodded a greeting at his friend before starting to eat his chicken burger.

"You get much sleep last night?" Tommy shrugged, considering the question. "Yeah, I guess the normal amount. Why?"

Merton popped a tater tot in his mouth with his fingers. "I dunno, that thing in the woods, Kalida's assertions that it's going to kill me…?" He tilted his head. "Can't imagine why I'd have a harder time sleeping than usual." He ate another tot. "I swear I checked if the door was locked, like, three times."

"So Kalida had some kinda weird dream and the monster thing happened to be in it. That doesn't mean it's gonna happen." "I know that. It's pretty weird, though." He sipped his soda. "And it wasn't exactly a dream that she had. She went to a parallel dimension for most of a day." "Oh yeah?" Tommy raised a brow. "You sure? Sounds like a dream to me."

Merton pursed his lips, then sighed. "It's just that… stuff happened in the other dimension. Stuff that she shouldn't have been able to dream up." Tommy was skeptical. "Like what?" Merton crossed his arms. "Like you dating Stacey Hansen." Tommy rolled his eyes and stuck out his chin. "So she heard I used to date Stacey." "No, Tommy, she didn't. She told me in vivid detail about how she and Stacey were supposed besties, about her hair, about how the two of you were wanting alone time in the house." Tommy put his hand up. "Okay, so what?"

"She didn't know who Stacey was. You never talk about her. And she just dreamed a whole day of interacting with her? Or what about the monster itself." He popped another tot. "That's pretty suspicious that the same thing would come to town." Tommy furrowed a brow, but nodded. "Yeah, okay, except why did it take so long to get here?" Merton frowned. "Well, that I don't know."

"And anyway," He leaned forward, voice getting quiet. "We deal with monsters all the time. What's so special about this one?" Merton took a sip of his soda. "I dunno. It just has her wigged out."

Tommy nodded, looking down at his burger a moment.

"How was she today? Still cleaning compulsively?" "No… She was super quiet today, kept spacing out." "I guess the monster's taken her mind off her parents."

"I don't know if that's a good thing or not." Tommy sighed. "I just wanted to cheer her up, you know? And now she's worrying about some bug-man thing killing us." He shook his head. "It sucks." "Yeah, it does." Merton finished off his tots. "But hey, we'll take care of it. That's what we do." Tommy smirked. "That's right."

The two did a secret handshake over the table.

Tommy waved his parents off from the door, watching as their car pulled down the street. "Okay, Kali!" He called up the stairs. "We've gotta get going soon!"

Dean looked over from the commercials on the living room tv. "What are you up to with the cuz, little bro?" "Oh, you know," Tommy laughed nervously. "Just the usual stuff." "Well you two crazy kids stay safe out there." He shook his head, smiling to himself as his show came back on. "The folly of youth."

Tommy ran his hands over his face and quietly made his way to the basement while Dean was distracted.

He found his dad's rifle carefully mounted on the gun rack. Bob had shown him how to properly use a gun a few years earlier, but even so, they'd never had occasion to actually shoot something living with it. Certainly not a monster that was going to be fighting back.

He opened the basement door and carefully laid out the rifle and two boxes of rounds just outside, then shut and locked it. When he got upstairs, Kalida was standing in the foyer, wearing boots and a heavy denim jacket, her hair up in a braided ponytail.

"Ready?" she asked, looking stern.

Kali's got her game face on, Tommy thought.

"Yeah, I'm ready. Let's go." He pulled on his runners and grabbed his letterman jacket.

"Okay, Dean, we're going out!" "Have fun!" Dean gestured vaguely in their direction as he turned the tv volume up.

While Kalida went to start up Betsy, Tommy ran around back to grab the gun and ammo.

Once in the camper and on the road, a thick silence fell between them. Tommy tapped at the dashboard. "So we're gonna head up in the hearse?"

"Yeah, Merton said I could park out back and then that way we can load the back of his car with our weapons and stuff." "Cool." Kalida kept her focus on the road, knuckles white from her tight grip on the wheel.

Tommy looked her over, noting her stiff upper lip, rigid shoulders and arms. It's more like she's forcing herself to be okay, to be tough. "I'll take the rifle. That way, if we do get in trouble, dad won't get on your case about it."

"Honestly, I'd rather not have to shoot the gun, so that works out well." Kalida let out a small sigh. "Merton said he made some molotov cocktails. He's gonna bring the bow as well. And these smoke bombs he bought online. He hasn't tried them out yet, said he thought the company might be kinda shady." She forced a laugh. "As if buying weapons isn't shady enough."

Tommy gave a limp smile. "Yeah. Lucky Merton's got that whole online shopping thing down. And his parents don't bat an eye. They figure it's just his goth phase.. Decorations or whatever."

Kalida laughed. "I like how they let him set up a rack in his bedroom." She shook her head. "Man, if Merton ever got accused of anything, the police would have a field day in that room."

Tommy shrugged. "Yeah, but Merton's not like that." "No, I know. Just… imagine. Weapons and torture devices, and weird monster specimens in jars that they'd probably think were like… animals he cut up or something." "And then there's that skull on his desk." "I think that's a replica." "Yeah, he won't give me a straight answer on that." "Ewwww." Kalida laughed, some of the tension leaving her shoulders. She looked over at Tommy. "Just be careful tonight, okay? This thing seriously gives me the wigs."

He nodded. "You got it. Extra careful werewolf coming right up." She smiled crookedly as they pulled up behind the Dingle household. "Okay, let's do this, I guess."

They loaded the arsenal into the back of the hearse, being careful to watch for any passersby that might question what they were doing with a horde of weapons.

Merton shut the back doors and clapped his hands together. "Okay, so remember, keep your distance, aim for the head." Kalida nodded. "Right. The scorpion part of it is like.. Super duper strong. Like hard metal. I couldn't get through it with the decorative axe, and it punched dents in the vehicles."

Tommy nodded. "Is it poisonous?" "Venomous." "Same thing," Tommy scoffed.

"No, it's not." Kalida raised a brow. "Poisonous stuff is like.. If you eat it and it's toxic. Venomous is when it, like, stings you or bites you or whatever." "Okay, whatever nerd girl. So is it venomous?" Kalida shrugged. "I dunno. Scorpions are, though, right? So it probably is?"

Merton interjected. "It definitely is." He put a hand on Tommy's shoulder. "Just avoid the big stinger coming out of its tail and you'll be fine."

They slowed to a stop up at the lookout. This time the sun was still up, late evening light casting a warm glow on the clearing that looked out over the town below.

Kalida looked between the two boys. "I guess we should grab our weapons. Stay close to the car so we can leave if we need to."

"Okay, mom." Tommy teased, but he wolfed out as he stepped out the passenger side door, leaving it open. He carefully loaded the rifle, then aimed it at the ground while they waited for the monster to appear.

Kalida climbed over the seat to the back and passed the box of throwable weapons to Merton, who positioned them on the seat before stepping out of the vehicle. She then passed him a sheathed sword. He stood in the space between the door and the interior of the vehicle, holding a smoke bomb in one hand, the sword scabbard attached to his body.

Kalida then opened the back doors and prepped her bow, nocking an arrow. She stood with her back to the hearse, eyes darting all around them, while the boys faced the direction that it had come from the night before.

"Do you think we should have brought some bait?" Tommy wondered aloud. "Oh, I'm sure we're tasty enough for the scorpion man all by ourselves," Merton wheezed. Kalida made a noise of agreement. "Yeah, it seemed to be after people the last few times, so I dunno if it eats them, or what…"

"Are you sure it's still up here?" Merton looked over at her, wishing they were doing normal teenager stuff tonight. "It's still not too late to go bowling or something." "Merton," Tommy chastised. "We can't let some big bug thing just run loose around town." "Says the man with the gun! I just have these." He shook the smoke bomb, which then started to smoke. "Whoa. We've got a live one!" He threw it as far as he could, and it landed at the lip of the forest at the edge of the clearing.

"Smooth."

Grey clouds of smoke filled the spaces between the trees. Kalida looked around anxiously. Tommy's ears perked at the sounds of twigs snapping in the direction of the smoke bomb. They all peered at the growing plume of smoke as two glowing orange dots grew brighter.

"It's here." Kalida pulled the arrow back.

The scorpion monster stepped out of the fog and reared, making a horrid sound.

Kalida's breath caught, the image of Merton's bloodied corpse on the road flashing in her mind. She swallowed and pulled the string just a touch tighter, correcting her aim before letting it free.

The arrow stuck into the monster's shoulder, and it reeled in pain, pawing at the shaft as thick blood slowly trickled down its skin.

Tommy aimed his father's gun and shot. The bullet hit a tree near the monster.

Meanwhile Merton was struggling to light the cloth in his molotov cocktail. When he got it lit, he threw it at the monster, missing by several feet. It crashed to the ground and exploded into a relatively small plume of flames.

The monster reared again, confused by the fire.

"Come on guys, this is not a drill." Kalida nocked another arrow, aiming for the monster's neck. When she let it loose, it missed, but hit the other shoulder.

The monster now focused on Kali, and started toward her, stepping over the dying flames with his sharp black legs.

Tommy let a few more shots off to no avail.

Kali struggled to get another arrow nocked, but it was much closer now. She clumsily let the arrow loose. It hit the monster's abdomen, but didn't stick, instead leaving a mark before falling to the ground. She stared at it, suddenly frozen as it closed in on her. She watched as the monster raised its stinger at her. Just as it struck, she felt herself being pulled to the side. She hit the ground with a thud and snapped back to reality. Tommy - who had pulled her out of the stinger's path just in time - helped her back to her feet.

Merton ran at the monster with his sword out, sticking it deeply in the side. The monster let out a terrible screech. Merton let go of the sword, which remained in the monster's abdomen, and backed away. "Yeah! How do you like it!?"

Tommy moved to put himself between Kalida and the monster, then readied another shot. This time he hit the monster's chest.

The monster reeled back and looked between them. Bleeding from several wounds, it began to retreat. Tommy shot again, hitting it in a leg. The monster thrashed wildly toward them, its stinger lashing out randomly. It thudded against the side of the hearse, then scuttled back to the tree line as Tommy let out several more rounds at it.

"We have to chase it!" Tommy yelled, running after it.

Kalida looked over to where Merton had been standing, and no longer saw him. For a moment, the world seemed to spin as she stepped around the vehicle toward the driver side door. "Merton?"

Merton was sitting on the ground, holding his left forearm. "It nicked me," he admitted, blood starting to seep out from under his hand.

Kalida's eyes widened. She looked out to where her cousin had run off. "TOMMY! Tommy, Merton's hurt!" She crouched down next to him and looked him over. "Is it just the one wound?" "Y-yeah." Merton shivered. "Are you okay?" "I feel a little peculiar," he admitted.

Kalida could feel her chest tightening. "O-okay, hold on." She ran to the back of the hearse and pulled out Merton's large red first aid kit bag. She crouched on the ground in front of him, back to the forest as she unzipped the kit. "Okay, we need to patch it up. Can you take off that sleeve?"

Merton motioned to the scissors in the kit. "Just cut it off, this shirt is toast anyway." He closed his eyes and leaned back against the side of the vehicle. "Right." Kalida swiftly but carefully cut the sleeve off above where he was holding his arm. "Okay, ready?" "Yeah." Merton let go of his arm. Blood started to flow more freely from his wound as Kalida pulled the sleeve off, being careful not to drag the fabric over his open cut.

She got a quick look at it before pressing gauze against his arm. "Hold that." He did as instructed and opened his eyes to look around her. "Where's Tommy?" "I dunno, he just ran off…" The panic she was trying to keep at bay leaked out in her voice and she shook her head. "He's probably still fighting it."

They both started at the somewhat distant sound of a gunshot.

"I hope he shoots it right in the face," Merton groaned. "This was a nice shirt." "Merton," Kalida finished taping the gauze to his arm, then pressed her forehead against his. "I'm fine. Just a wee bitty woozy."

The next shot was louder, closer.

"You need to get into the hearse." "I'm not dead yet," he teased, but he slowly pulled himself up and, with her help, got into the front seat. "Scooch over. You're not driving like this." Merton put the box of throwable weapons at his feet and settled into the middle spot.

Another shot rang out, and Kalida looked toward the edge of the forest. She couldn't tell if there was movement in the hazy light of the setting sun, but it had sounded close. She zipped up the first aid kit, grabbed the bow and arrow again, then shut all the doors save the driver's side. She readied an arrow, hoping Tommy would make it to the car before the monster.

Maybe this is something we can't handle. We could tell those forum people? She felt the sting of tears in her eyes, but swallowed hard and narrowed her eyes to focus on the edge of the clearing.

Suddenly Tommy burst through, covered in dark splotches of blood, gun facing the ground. He jogged over as Kalida lowered her bow, blinking.

"You guys okay?" "Did… did you kill it?" "Yeah," Tommy gestured from where he'd just come from, catching his breath. "Shot it in the face just now." "And… you're okay?" Kalida put her hand out to touch the blood on his jacket, but thought better of it. "Yeah, I'm fine." He leaned into the open door. "You okay little buddy?" Merton looked over Tommy with slightly unfocused eyes and put a finger up. "I think it stung me."

Tommy and Kalida looked at each other with panic.

"How do you cure poison?" "Venom," she corrected. "I don't know, we didn't plan for this." "What do you mean you don't know!?"

Merton leaned toward them in the front seat. "Guys."

"Well it's not like you ever know what to do, Tommy! Why do I have to know how to fix everything?" Kalida's voice was panicked, her vision getting blurry. Tommy got defensive, voice rising in panic. "You're the one who fought it before! I dunno about-" he gestured, "Giant scorpions and whatever!"

"Guys!"

"Last time it just straight up killed him! It didn't sting him!"

Merton was now laying back, head nearly sticking out the door on the driver's seat. "HEY!"

Tommy and Kalida started at his shout, then looked toward him.

"I know. How. To cure it."

Kalida was surprised to see how discolored his skin already was. He looked like he was having a hard time focusing on them. Tommy leaned the rifle against the open door. "So what do we need?"

"First, you need the stinger," Merton coughed and scratched at his throat with his uninjured arm. "Make sure you get the venom sac." Kalida and Tommy looked at each other. "Um." "I'll just get the whole thing. It's not far." "How are we gonna cut it open?" "We'll take it back to the lair and sort it out there." Kalida nodded. "Okay."

She looked over at Merton as Tommy ran back toward the treeline. "What do we do with the venom?" "There's a recipe for the tonic on the MonsterWatch forum. After the first time you told me about them, I asked around. They're called skorpon." "Why didn't you tell me?" "I was hoping it wouldn't come. Anyway, these things pop up every few decades or so. Bram on the site said they were probably sealed away and they end up getting released by accident," he coughed again. "You know, development and whatnot."

She nodded. "Okay. Well… I'll get us ready to go." She grabbed the gun and her bow, then opened the back doors. She made sure the rifle wasn't loaded before stashing everything as compactly as possibly in the back to make room for the scorpion monster corpse.

Meanwhile Tommy was dragging its huge, damaged body across the clearing. The head was almost completely gone, just a fractured bit of skull attached to the muscle tissue. Its torso was still stuck with arrows and a sword.

"Oh my god." Kalida covered her mouth and shut her eyes, looking away to compose herself.

Tommy dragged it right up to the back of the hearse and unceremoniously shoved the dead body into the vehicle, avoiding the stinger. "Okay, let's go." He shut the doors and looked at Kali, who seemed upset. "I'll drive, you ride shotgun." He patted her back and dewolfed before making his way to the driver's side door.

Kalida took a few deep breaths, then joined the boys in the front seat. She put her hand in Merton's as they drove back into town, and hoped nobody noticed what they were up to.

Back at the lair, Merton was propped up at his computer. Tommy had managed to drag the corpse inside, and he and Kalida were cutting it open with the sword that Merton had jammed into its side.

The cousins were wearing protective gloves that Merton had provided, and Tommy had taken off his blood covered jacket, which was now soaking in a unique solution Merton had developed for cleaning off monster carnage.

"Okay, I think I see it." Kalida carefully pulled a venom sac out of the corpse and dumped it into the bucket Tommy was holding. "Now get a quarter cup of that venom and mix it with this." Merton tapped the top of a large, blue glass bottle on his desk. "What is it?" Tommy asked, sneering at the smell of the venom. He carefully measured out the venom and added it to the watery liquid in the bottle. "It's an herbal tincture I prepared. Just put the lid on, shake it up, and then we let it sit for a bit." He leaned back in his chair, coughing again and wincing in pain.

"What are we gonna do with the rest of this thing?" Kalida asked, looking down at the mangled body. "That human part really makes it a dangerous thing to have lying around." "Yeah, they usually just… go away." Tommy nodded. She stared at the mangled remains. "Just imagine getting caught burying a torso." "Yeah, how do you explain that one?" Tommy laughed nervously. "No, we didn't kill anyone, it's just a monster."

Kalida looked over at Merton. "Your parents won't come in here, right?" Merton opened his closed eyes. "Nah, door's locked." He groaned as he pushed himself forward. He got caught in a coughing fit, then took the blue bottle and downed its contents.

"How do we know if it worked?" Tommy murmured to Kali. She shrugged, staring at Merton. Her shoulders were stiff, and she fought the urge to wring her hands. Merton coughed a few times and laid back again in his chair, closing his eyes.

Tommy raised his brows expectantly. "Well? How you feeling, Merton?" Merton looked pained, but resigned. "It's definitely doing something."

Kalida stared at him expectantly. She could hear her pulse in her ears and she felt like there was a weight on her lungs.

She did her best to ignore the intrusive thoughts telling her that he was going to die again. That she had killed him again by dragging him into dealing with something dangerous.

We could have just asked another hunter to come to town and kill it for us. We could have left it alone all together. Why do we have to be the ones risking our lives for the town? Why can't we just be normal stupid teenagers who party on the weekends and stay up too late on weeknights?

Tommy took turns watching his shell-shocked cousin and his poisoned friend's faces. For all that Merton was the one in mortal danger, Kalida looked like she was in worse shape.

A short moment later, Merton let out a deep cough and took a few deep breaths. He wiped his brow and looked over at them, blinking. "I think it's going away now." Tommy grinned. "Great!" "Thank god," Kalida sighed, then slumped onto the couch.

Tommy fiddled with a box on Merton's desk. "So what was it like? Being stung, I mean." Merton shrugged. "It felt like a cut, but then my throat started swelling a bit. Blurry vision. Standard stuff." He coughed weakly. "That was a pretty potent mix though. Can you grab me a YooHoo?"

Tommy nodded and headed over to the mini fridge to grab the drink.

When Merton took the first sip, he let out a small grunt as the cola burned away the dregs of the tincture mix. "I'll see if anyone one the forum wants the rest of the beast. This venom alone could be really useful."

The boys were startled by the sudden sound of Kalida crying on the couch.

Tommy rushed over to her as Merton carefully lifted himself out of the castle chair at his desk. "Whoa, Kali, it's okay. Don't cry." "Yeah," Merton coughed. "Defeated is the monster."

They stood on either side of her and shared a glance. Now what?

"I'm just relieved," she sobbed, hiding her face, bent over her lap. Merton sat down beside her and wrapped his arms - one still de-sleeved and bandaged - around her. "See? We can handle whatever gets thrown at us." Tommy nodded. "Yeah. The unbeatable team."

Merton mopped the floor of the lair. He had managed to get the rest of the skorpon remains dissected into useful parts with Tommy and Kalida's help, and had found interested hunters on the forum that were willing to come pick them up. They had filled the deep freeze with vacuum sealed monster bits and burned the other remains in the mountains. Now he was left with only a faint stain of blackish blood that was lifting as he scrubbed it.

His arm was still healing, but luckily nobody thought anything of him wearing long-sleeved shirts, so he'd been able to hide it from his family.

Once Kalida had calmed down, she had mostly gone back to her normal self. She was obviously still a bit touchy about her parents, but she had been almost jovial disposing of the monster, and she'd even joined them at lunch in the cafeteria the next day.

Three loud knocks banged out against the door to upstairs. "Freaker! Dinner!"

"Be right up!" He wrapped up the mopping and sighed. "You know, they never really showed this part of monster slaying on Buffy."

Bob took a deep breath, tapping a thick envelope against his palm several times before entering the kitchen.

Kalida was sweeping the floor, pushing the dust and debris into a pile in one corner of the room.

Bob cleared his throat and approached. "Kalida, why don't you go watch tv or something? I think you've done more than enough chores this week." She shrugged without making eye contact. "It's okay. I like cleaning." "You must be the only teenager I've ever met who likes chores." He sighed, hesitating a moment before closing the distance. "I, um. I was thinking, and I want you to take this." He held the envelope out to her.

She looked over, genuinely confused, then rested the broom against the counter. "What is it…?" "I want you to use it to have a good time at prom."

She opened the envelope carefully to reveal a stack of large bills. Her mouth fell open in shock. "I… I can't take this. It's too much. My parents already sent-"

"No, I insist. I know I haven't always been the most supportive uncle… I'm sorry for that. But I don't know what my brother's thinking, not being there for his kid when he said he would. Prom's an important night in a teenager's life. You should enjoy it."

Her vision went blurry with tears. She shook her head. "Uncle Bob, this is-" He pushed her hand against her chest. "Just take it. Get the nicest dress you can find, and have a great time with that Dingle kid. Promise me."

She sniffed and nodded, overwhelmed. "Okay." Bob patted her head softly. "Okay."

--

A/N: Finally moving this chapter over to tumblr! Do you stress clean? Haha. Poor Kali.

Tags: @self-conscious-author

#bwoc #big wolf on campus #big wolf on campus fanfic #big wolf #merton x oc #tommy dawkins #merton dingle

[bisexualbumblebee-writes]

Locked Up Part 2- Jonathan Crane x OC

 Jonathan Crane x Eden Rowe

Description: After arriving at a safe house on the other side of the city with Jervis, Jerome and Jonathan, certain feelings become known between Jonathan and Eden. 

Word Count: 2.1k

Once they arrived at the safehouse, they all sort of went in their separate directions. To be fair, Eden didn’t even know if she should call it a house, it looked more like a mansion. There were three stories to it (not including the basement). Granted, it looked abandoned on the outside so the chances of being found were slim to none, but that didn’t take away from the sheer size of it. According to the boys, they each had their own floor to do whatever they pleased (save for the kitchen, which was obviously for all of them).

When they’d walked inside Jerome instantly bid them a goodbye then promptly disappeared around a corner, which let Eden know that the first floor was his. After walking up the first flight of stairs to the second floor, Jervis said that it was his stop, and he walked away after bidding them a good evening. Jonathan then led the girl up the second set of stairs, explaining that the entire floor was hers. When she questioned about where he would be if that were the case, he simply answered that he had the basement all to himself. After showing her the master bedroom on her floor, he left her alone to get settled in. It seemed that the boys had made good use of the spare key Eden had given them to share when they still lived with her because all of her stuff was in her new room. They grabbed everything. From her clothes, to the pictures hanging on her wall, even her bedding. At first it was creepy to her, but she recognized the thoughtfulness and decided not to say anything. After all, they’d gone through so much trouble to make her comfortable, why not take full advantage of that?

It was long after dark when she saw Jonathan again. Jerome and Jervis had used the intercom that had been installed in each floor to let her and everyone else know that they were heading to bed. Eden was too excited to go to bed so soon though. It was her first night of freedom again and she wanted to stay up a bit longer and bask in it. By this point she had already showered and changed into more comfortable clothes, so all she just laid back on her new bed. A content sigh left her lips as she stared up at her ceiling, then she remembered the piece of paper still sitting in the pocket of her asylum uniform. A giddy smile appeared on her face and she grabbed it, leaning back against the wall her bed sat against as she examined it. It was still as beautiful as the day she found it. She had been so focused that she almost hadn’t even realized that someone was knocking on her door.

“Come in,” she called, haphazardly shoving the drawing under her pillow. Funnily enough, it was the Scarecrow who stood on the other side of her door. He wasn’t wearing his costume though, instead dressed in clothes that reminded Eden that he was in fact still an eighteen year old boy. She smiled as he stepped inside and moved to sit at the edge of her bed.

“Hey Jonathan,” she greeted happily.

“Hey,” he returned as he stepped closer to her. “Just wanted to make sure you were comfortable.” Eden’s heart melted at his benevolence and she found herself nodding.

“It’s definitely better than Arkham’s beds,” she answered with a sigh. That earned a small laugh from the boy, which made her smile widen as she gestured for him to sit. He did so once she made some more room and rested his hands on his knees awkwardly.

It reminded Eden of the first week or so of when she’d been hiding them. While Jerome made himself at home immediately with Jervis not far behind him (though not as boldly), Jonathan took a bit longer. She guessed that he was just still trying to get over what Merton’s gang had put him through and being in a normal house once again after everything that had happened. He eventually managed to get through it with her help and things went smoothly from there. Eden hoped that this wouldn’t be another case of it.

“Hey,” she called softly as her hand rested over his, making him look at her. “You don’t have to be nervous. It’s still just me.” Her reassurance made him grin and nod, though he still didn’t look fully comfortable so close to her.

“Yeah, I know,” he muttered.

“Is something wrong?” She asked worriedly. He shook his head quickly- maybe too quickly.

“No, no I’m fine,” he answered. Eden didn’t really believe him, but she decided not to push it. Just as she opened her mouth to say something else, she was interrupted by him.

“What’s that?” Jonathan questioned as he peered around her. The girl furrowed her brows and followed his gaze to the drawing that now stuck out from under her pillow. It must have moved when she made room for him. Her eyes widened, panicked.

“It’s nothing,” she said quickly, attempting to grab it. Jonathan beat her to the punch and managed to grab it just a millisecond before her. A small laugh left his lips as he moved it out of her reach with one arm, keeping her back with the other when she tried to reach across him.

“Jonathan seriously,” she said desperately, but it was too late. He was already looking it over. Warmth flooded her face as embarrassment rushed through her. He probably thought she was a freak stalker. What else would he believe? How likely was it that she just happened to be placed in his old room and find his drawing? It sounded fake and-

“Where did you get this?” He asked. His voice was neither condescending or freaked out like she thought it would be, but rather genuinely curious, which confused her. Her brows furrowed as she debated on how to answer him. Ultimately she decided to just rip off the bandaid and tell him the truth.

“I- uh…I found it in my cell,” she muttered shyly.

“Your cell?” He repeated confusedly, earning a nod from the girl.

“It was under my bed,” she elaborated. “I guess the cleaning crew missed it after you left.” Jonathan’s brows furrowed.

“But, why do you have it?” If it were possible for Eden’s face to become redder, she would look like a tomato. She would rather drop off the face of the earth than answer him. She turned away from him, not wishing to see his reaction to possibly one of the creepiest things she could ever say to him.

“It…I thought it would be the closest thing I’d ever get to seeing you again. It sorta comforted me, it was pretty much the only thing that kept me from going crazy in Arkham.” Her response was met with complete and utter silence. Slowly, she spared a glance at him and realized he was just staring at her with little to no emotion on her face. She would rather have him yell at her and call her a psycho. This was a nightmare compared to that because she couldn’t tell what she was thinking. Was there any way she’d be able to save this? Probably not, but that didn’t stop her from continuing.

“I know I probably sound creepy and stalkerish but-“

“No, you don’t,” he cut her off, patting her hand reassuringly as she looked at him once more. “Just a little surprising. I didn’t think my drawing would bring anyone any sort of comfort.”

“Really?”

“Well yeah. I mean, look at it,” he laughed a little, gesturing to it. “It’s not exactly the epitome of childhood wonder.” A smile formed on her face.

“Well, if you couldn’t tell, ‘childhood wonder’ doesn’t exactly do it for me,” she retorted with an awkward giggle, glancing down at his hand still on top of hers. “You’re the only one I really feel safe with because we have history now. Of course I would want to seek comfort in something from someone I feel safe with.” Jonathan’s expression morphed into one that she could only describe as fondness or tenderness, which only made her look away again. A small smile appeared on his face as he nodded.

“I get it. If it makes you feel any better, you’re probably the only person I would feel safe with too.” Eden’s head snapped up so fast she was surprised it didn’t break (or at least crack).

“Wait, seriously?” She asked in shock.

“Yeah, you helped me when Merton kept me trapped in the basement then took me in when I escaped Arkham. I don’t know anyone who would’ve done that for me.”

“How do you know I did it for you?” She teased lightly. “Maybe I did it for Jerome.” The mere thought made Jonathan snort before he slapped a hand over his mouth to stifle it. That I’m turn caused Eden to laugh, which he joined in just a moment later.

“Alright, fair enough,” she giggled out, shaking her head. They fell into silence after that, but they didn’t know if they could count it as uncomfortable or not. Their feelings were out there, and even better, they were mutual. But neither of them really knew where to go from there. It’s not like they’d had lots of experience or exposure to it. Jonathan was an outcast who had no friends during his school days and by this point he’d forgotten any positive feeling he’d ever had about his father and his relationship with Jonathan’s mother. Meanwhile Eden never knew her mother (Molly Rowe had run off just after she had been born) was homeschooled by her father, so she didn’t exactly have the necessary interactions at school to teach her about crushes or love. But, she did have romance movies to rely on, despite the fact that she knew that they were unrealistic for the most part. So, she said the first thing she’d thought of.

“Would you-“

“Can I-“ It seemed that Jonathan had also decided to speak at the same time as her. They broke out into another small fit of laughter, both of their faces heating up.

“You go first,” the boy said.

“Would you want to maybe go out sometime? Like, on a date?” Eden asked shyly, feeling her blush deepen. She was genuinely surprised she hadn’t stuttered in her question. A bright smile appeared on Jonathan’s face and he nodded, which made her breathe a sigh of relief.

“I would love to,” he answered softly. “After the heat dies down of course. Maybe we could get dinner or something.” Eden nodded eagerly. That went better than expected.

“Alright, what were you going to say?”

“Oh,” he muttered, almost as if he’d forgotten that he’d also started to say something. “Uh, it’s nothing.” His gaze fell to his lap as he said it, which confused Eden.

“No, come on. Just say it, I won’t make fun of you or anything. I think we’re sort of past that teasing stage,” she half joked, feeling happy when that got a small smile out of him. For a moment he seemed to have an internal debate on whatever he was about to say. The girl waited patiently, her eyes never leaving him. Finally, he mustered up the courage to speak.

“I was…well, I was going to ask if I could kiss you,” he mumbled so quietly that she almost hadn’t heard it. If it were possibly for both of them to blush any deeper, they would be. Jonathan’s gaze never wavered from his lap, so he didn’t see Eden smile at first.

“I would like that a lot,” she responded, which made him look at her. When he realized she wasn’t joking or anything, he nodded. They leaned in at the same time (probably a little too slowly for either of their liking) and their lips met halfway. The kiss itself was awkward and showed that this was definitely both of their first kisses. And yet, to them, nothing could have felt more perfect. Those romance books weren’t kidding when they said that sparks fly when you kiss someone you have feelings for, that much was obvious to Eden. Her eyes fell closed as Jonathan lifted a hand to cradle her cheek. After a short while they finally pulled away for breath, and neither of them could wipe off that lovesick smile that formed on their faces. They had a good feeling about the future with each other.

#gotham #gotham imagine #gotham scarecrow #jonathan crane #Jonathan crane x oc #jonathan crane imagine #scarecrow #scarecrow x oc #scarecrow imagine

[halloweennut]

Mara (OC Playlist)

anyway here’s the vibe y’all 

List under the readmore!

Fleetwood Mac - The Chain (lyrics) Heart - "Barracuda" (1977) ♡ Lotta True Crime - Penelope Scott - Lyrics ♡ Sir Chloe - Michelle (Lyrics) Murders (slowed + reverb / tiktok edition) Miracle Musical "All for nothing at all" Alice Merton – No Roots (Lyrics) Florence & the Machine - Cosmic Love (Lyrics) David Bowie Space Oddity  Lyrics Sweet - The Ballroom Blitz - Silvester-Tanzparty 1974/75 31.12.1974 (OFFICIAL) Mitski - Nobody (Lyrics) My Chemical Romance - I'm Not Okay (I Promise) [Dialogue/MTV Version] Cancer x As The World Caves In (Guy Mclachlan full mashup) River Lullaby - The Prince of Egypt Britney Spears - Toxic But It's Power by Kanye West Rico Nasty - Smack A Bitch (Prod By Kenny Beats) [Official Music Video] That Handsome Devil - Standing Room in Heaven BROWN BIRD: "Blood of Angels" Animated Lyrics twenty one pilots: Car Radio [OFFICIAL VIDEO] Johnny Cash- God's Gonna Cut You Down (lyrics) GANK - Resurrection Homestuck: [S] Collide Track 4 - Heir of Grief My Chemical Romance - Na Na Na [Official Lyric Video] moremoney - hate I Bet on Losing Dogs - Mitski (lyrics) Undertale OST: 014 - Heartache Moulin Rouge - Your Song Instrumental (After the storm scene) Florence + the Machine - Jenny of Oldstones (Lyric Video) | Season 8 | Game of Thrones (HBO) Gorillaz - Feel Good Inc. (Official Video) 2WEI feat. Edda Hayes - Warriors (Official Imagine Dragons cover from League of Legends trailer) K/DA - POP/STARS (ft. Madison Beer, (G)I-DLE, Jaira Burns) | Music Video - League of Legends Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: Black Sheep - FULL music video Deep Purple - Smoke on the Water (Audio) Steppenwolf - Born To Be Wild Pat Benatar - Heartbreaker (Lyrics) Miley Cyrus - Why’d You Only Call Me When You’re High (Lyrics)Main Character challenge [Tiktok Song] The Hollies - Long Cool Woman (In a Black Dress) (Official Audio) The Animals - The House of the Rising Sun - Lyrics The Front Bottoms - Be Nice To Me Frances Forever - Space Girl (Official Video)

#srmthfg oc #srmthfg #sometimes you just gotta make a playlist of jams and vibes #a few of these make zero sense but the vibes are what drove it #mara #my art #also drawing the cover was so much fun

[thesunnyshow]

EPISODE 5: MINA

Writing Blog URL(s): @jaemina00​

Name: Mina 

Age: 20 

Nationality: British 

Languages: English, Bengali 

Star Sign: pisces  

MBTI: INFP-T

What fandom(s) do you write for?

NCTzens 

When did you post your first piece?

This year back in late May or early June 

Do you write fluff/angst/crack/general/smut, combo, etc? Why?

Mostly fluff because I'm a sucker for the way your heart can literally ache in your chest but also angst because it also causes such strong emotions. 

Do you write OCs, X Readers, Ships...etc?

All X Readers so far 

Why did you start writing on Tumblr?

It started really as just a pass by of time, I love creative writing and kpop so it just seemed the best way to cross them. I was incredibly bored due to quarantine and thought it was a good way to enjoy myself and not let my brain rot away but I surely fell in love with it. 

What inspires you to write?

Any moment really. Late night thoughts or just the people I'm surrounded with. Music I think is especially great because it allows you to feel emotions without actually having to go through the experience and scenarios and then you can write based on how you felt those emotions through the song. 

What genres/AUs do you enjoy writing the most?

Like I said before I really like fluff, recently I've been more interested in AUs like reincarnation and a lot of psychological beliefs as well as mythology and the supernatural.

What do you hope your readers take away from your work?

Feeling. Whether it's a feeling of happiness that made their heart swoon or the aching of sadness, I hope my reader just feel through my writing. 

What do you do when you hit a rough spot creatively?

I take a break and step back from my writing. Sometime, being so stuck in your mind makes it much harder to write. So I stop writing for as many days as it takes for the ideas and the flow to comeback to me naturally and without being pushed. In this time I usually try to find inspiration from music and other stories. 

What is your favorite work and why? Your most successful?

As of right now I really like 'Love Me Now' and 'Nighthawk'. Love me now is based off NCT 127's song and I loved how I just wrote what I felt in the exact moment I was listening to it, it holds a special space in my heart for that. I also love nighthawk because of how  stuck I was with it. I was planning and drafting it for the longest time and everytime hating what I've written and restarting, so I have some pride in now finally actually liking what I've written. Most successful however is 'Firsts' I do love it but because it's of the first ones I wrote so there is a slight cringe to it now. 

Do you think there’s a difference between writing fanfiction vs. completely original prose?

The only difference I see is that when writing fanfiction you have a name and a face to go with it however everything else is the same. You have to come up with how the characters are presented, what's their dynamic, what's the storyline and how it's going to be presented. You still have to showcase emotion, action and dialogue as well as everything in between.

What do you think makes a good story?

A story that has you engaged and feeling something. Like it makes you almost sad that you've finished it and makes you want to come back to read it again. 

What is your writing process like?

It varies it can be like  have an idea I make a plan on how I want the story to progress and how I want it to end, I try to think of how I want my characters to be portrayed to my reader and how the dynamic between characters is. Then I write multiple drafts and slowly eliminate based off which one I hate and which ones I like until I'm left with the best one and then I reread and either add or remove bits and go over grammar and spelling. Or I just go with the flow, honestly it's a process of cutting and writing again and again until I'm somewhat satisfied. 

Would you ever repurpose a fic into a completely original story?

I don't think any of my fics are good enough to be the basis of a story and I most definitely don't think I couldn't write a full original story. 

What tropes do you love, and what tropes can’t you stand?

Honestly I think every trope is okay if it's well executed and well written. Even tropes that are classified as clichés are nice to read when the writing style is engaging. 

How much would you say audience feedback/engagement means to you?

It means a lot because it allows room for growth and development. I really just want to know how I can become better what people like so I know what is successful and what isn't. 

What has been one of the biggest factors of your success (of any size)?

The fact that I like what I've written? I don't know but I think that it's important and I'm just glad that I do. In fact I kind of find that alone to be a success.

Favorite color: It changes but as of now pastels and especially yellow 

Favorite food: literally any food 

Favorite movie: The green book 

Favorite ice cream flavor: Chocolate 

Favorite animal: Giraffe 

Go-to karaoke song: Can't sing for my life :/

Dream job (whether you have a job or not): I'm studying law right now so the end goal is hopefully in human rights

Coffee or tea? What are you ordering?

Iced Americano or Mocha frappe

If you could have one superpower, what would you choose?

Teleportation I think is really cool, just imagine being able to go anywhere in the world in the span of a few Milliseconds.

If you could visit a historical era, which would you choose?

Probably the 20th Century, just seeing the world go through both world wars, the cold War, Vietnam and so many other political problems going on as well as so many revolutions both industrial and literal is both scary and such an exciting time to be alive. 

If you could restart your life, knowing what you do now, would you?

I think it's fun not knowing everything, it's definitely scary but there's an exciting buzz to it also I don't think me restarting life with what I know now would make a difference. 

Would you rather fight 100 chicken-sized horses or one horse-sized chicken?

I don't think I could fight one chicken sized horse let alone 100 but I most definitely can't fight a horse sized chicken. First of all, that's a big chicken and second, chickens are actually very fiesty. So I have to go with 100 chicken-sized horses. 

If you were a trope in a teen high school movie, what would you have been?

Probably the main characters best friend who judges every stupid decision they make and making it clear with lots of sarcastic comments but is their nevertheless fully supporting them to do more stupid and impulsive things. 

Do you believe in aliens/supernatural creatures?

Yess!! I find it almost impossible that we are the only intelligence in this much bigger universe. We are just mere specs and there has to be another form of intelligence out there. 

Fun fact about yourself that not everyone would know? 

I can fold my tongue in a three leaved clover? Lmao

Do you think fanfic writers get unfairly judged?

Yes! Just because it's based on someone in real life and isn't conventional story writing people expect it to be bad but actually there are so many amazing authors who write so many unique fanfictions. People also only expect it to be plotless but it's far from that. 

Do you think art can be a medium for change?

Definitely, I think art is a great medium for change. It can really play with someone's emotions and really open their eyes to new perspectives and wider horizons. Art can really change a person's ideologies on just about anything. It's powerful and allows people to find themselves as well as get lost in a world you've created. 

Do you ever feel there are times when you’re writing for others, rather than yourself?

I don't think I've come to a point like that yet, I enjoy writing so far and maybe it's because I'm fairly new that I haven't experienced this yet. 

Do you ever feel like people have misunderstood you or your writing at times?

No I haven't but again I haven't written much or for long. 

Do your offline friends/loved ones know you write for Tumblr?

Yes and actually depending on how I feel about a certain piece I let them read it and ask about what they think. 

What is one thing you wish you could tell your followers?

I hope you find some comfort or even happiness in my writing, I hope it made you smile or put you in your feels and you just overall find it enjoyable. Also don't be afraid to talk to me or send asks!!

Do you have any advice for aspiring writers who might be too scared to put themselves out there?

Just go for it! If you like what you've written then others are bound to like it, as cliché as that sounds it's true. At the end of the day if you love writing, it'll show in your work and others will fall in love with it too.

Are there any times when you regret joining Tumblr?

So far no. I've had a very pleasant experience with reading other people's amazing work as well as writing my own.

Pick a quote to end your interview with:

 “Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.” - Thomas Merton.

BONUS: K-POP CONFIDENTIAL

Interested in your very own episode of The Sunny Show? Find out how to apply here.

#@jaemina00 #thesunnyshow #featuredauthor #episode 5 #nct

[jae-sch-writes]

Cracked, But Far From Broken

Characters: Spencer Reid x Reader, Mr., and Mrs. Olson (OCs), The BAU

Genre: flangst

Word Count: 1,503

Summary: While on a case, a couple has a fight and it triggers a panic attack. Spencer helps you through it

Warnings: panic attack, yelling, fighting, mention of child abductions

A/N: Edited with Grammarly but any and all mistakes are my own and no one is to blame for them but myself.

We are afraid to care too much, for fear that the other person does not care at all.

-Eleanor Roosevelt 

Spencer knew that you had a panic disorder and he knew how to help you if a panic attack were to come. This was one of the first things you told him when the two of you started dating. You were afraid he didn't want to be with you anymore after you told him, but he stayed with you and promised he'd always be there should a problem arise.

The team was working on a case in the Upper Peninsula. There were some child abductions in Houghton, Michigan and the BAU was brought in to help get the kids back.

After returning from the Olson's house, you and Spencer came into the Houghton Police Station. The parent's of one of the children were fighting in the bullpen.

"If you had just been watching him a little bit closer then maybe he wouldn't have gotten taken in the first place!" the father yelled.

"He was in the bathroom! I couldn't have gone in there if I wanted to! He had the door locked!"

"Well then maybe you should've gone in there with him!"

The yelling could be heard from outside the building and it seemed even more intense inside. You gripped Spencer's hand and tried to calm your nerves.

Your parents fought often and they usually dragged you into it. They would force you to pick sides and whoseever side you didn't take, that parent would punish you.

"And you!" the mother screamed at you, looking at you directly in the eyes. "Why the hell are you back here when my baby is somewhere out there?  You could be out there looking for Tyler but instead, you're here and you're gonna do what? Fill out some paperwork?" She turned back to her husband and continued the yelling.

You had to step away and go into the sheriff's office. You leaned your head against the wall and tried to calm your nerves, but that only sped up your breathing.

The door opened behind you and Spencer came in.

"Hey, hey Y/N," he said quietly. "It's okay. Alright? You're okay. I'm right here, I promise."

"I-I," you rasped between heavy breaths.

"Don't talk, okay? I need you to turn around for me, can you do that?" You turned around to face him and you slid to the floor, unable to keep your balance anymore. "Good, good. Okay, now I want you to breathe in until I count to four, okay? Can you do that?"

You nodded your head and tried to steady your breathing, but you only made it to two before you let out your breath.

"It's okay, you can do it I know you can."

You tried again and this time you made it to four counts.

"Good, now you're going to hold your breath for seven counts, okay?"

You let out your breath early again, but Spencer coached you through it a couple of times and you eventually were able to make it to seven.

"You're doing great, Y/N. Now you're going to let out your breath for eight counts. Do you think you can do that for me."

You nodded your head and let out your breath for the full eight counts on the first try. You repeated what Spencer called 'The 4-7-8 Method' a couple of times before you felt your breath fully even out.

"Thank you," you whispered before pulling your legs up to your chest and leaning your head against your knees.

"It's not a problem at all. Approximately 1 to 2 percent of Americans suffer a panic disorder at some point during the year and about 5 percent experience it at some point in their lives,"* Spencer said as he rubbed your back. "And not everyone who experiences panic attacks has a panic disorder. Sometimes they can just evolve from stress and can come uncued. Despite feeling like no one can understand what it feels like, someone out there does. Panic attacks are different for each individual, however, many people have similar experiences."

Spencer's rambling helped ease your nerves. He knew his voice would help calm you down. He would often go on a tangent if you were feeling anxious because he knew it would help.

"I'm going to go get you some water, okay?" You nodded as Spencer stood up and went out of the room.

"What have you been doing in there for the last twenty minutes?" the husband shouted as he saw Spencer come out of the office. "Discussing theories? Making a plan? Is there maybe anything you would like to share with the class, Doctor?'

"Sir, I'm going to have to ask you to calm down and lower your voice," Spencer said.

"Why should I? While I've been out here worried sick, you and that other Agent have been in that room doing who knows what? If you asked me, I would say the two of you were hooking up in there."

"Mr. Olson, your yelling at the team is doing nothing but slowing down the process of finding Tyler. Now, Agent Y/LN and I did find some valuable information at your house and we were going to share it, however, your fight with your wife and then bringing Y/N into the situation caused her to have a triggered panic attack. Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to go get some water and go back inside that room and we will only come out when Agent Y/LN is ready to."

Spencer finished his speech and went to a vending machine to get the water he had promised you. On his way back, Mr. Olson stopped him.

"Dr. Reid," he said. "I'm really sorry about before. My temper and the stress of trying to find Tyler alive just took over. I'm truly sorry for causing Agent Y/LN to have a panic attack."

"Mr. Olson, what you did is not your fault. There's no way you could have possibly known that fighting in the form of words would be a trigger for Y/N's anxiety. She's doing okay right now, but I would advise that you and your wife stop fighting and certainly stop pointing fingers at the BAU. I understand that you're furious with yourselves and you blame yourselves for Tyler getting taken. I'm also aware that the FBI is an easy scapegoat for your feelings, but you need to realize that we want to find Tyler alive just as much as you do, and we can't do that if you're affecting our work. But please, if you have any information that may seem vital to the case, feel free to tell us. I'm going to go back in with Y/N now. If you have any other questions or comments, please see Agent Jareau."

Spencer got done talking with Mr. Olson and came back into the Sheriff's office and rejoined you on the floor. You were in the same position as you were when he left to go get the water for you.

"How are you doing?"

"I'm okay. Thanks," you said quietly. You reached for the water and let the cool liquid run down your throat.

You let your head rest against Spencer's shoulder as you sat in silence. You didn't want to go and face the rest of the team quite yet, and Spencer was okay with that. He had helped you through another one of these before and he knew it took you a while to recover, but he was willing to stay with you until you were ready.

"I'm sorry," you said after a few minutes. Spencer knew you had a habit of blaming yourself for things like this happening.

"Don't apologize. You can't control it. There's nothing to be sorry for, I promise."

"I know, but I still feel the need to say it."

"I know you do, but I promise you don't need to say anything."

Spencer pressed a gentle kiss to your temple and you sat in silence for a little longer.

A couple of minutes later, you were ready to go back out and help with the case again. Spencer helped you up off the floor and held your hand as the two of you walked out of the room.

The rest of the unit looked at you as you approached them, each of their faces had concern written across them. You gave them a smile and told them what you found at the house.

No one said a word about what happened after that and you were grateful. No one treated you differently. No one treated like you were fragile and vulnerable. If anything, they considered you to be the strongest out of all of them.

The one you were the most grateful for was Spencer. He was there when you were at your most vulnerable and he helped you through it, but he never treated you like you were broken. You loved him even more for that.

Spencer reminded you that you are not broken. You may be cracked, but you are far from broken.

I will not fear, for you are with me and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.

-Thomas Merton

* www.newharbinger.com

Tags

@re-fordoremi @randomstuff-idontwannatalkboutit @dontshootmespence @cynbx

#spencer reid x reader #spencer reid fanfiction #spencer reid fanfic #spencer reid oneshot #spencer reid one shot #spencer reid imagine #spencer reid fluff #spencer reid angst #spencer reid flangst #criminal minds fanfiction #criminal minds fanfic #criminal minds one shot #criminal minds oneshot #criminal minds imagine #criminal minds fluff #criminal minds angst #criminal minds flangst #fanfiction #fanfic #one shot #oneshot #imagine #fluff #angst #flangst #spencer reid #spencer #reid #cbs #criminal minds

[pricklypearpalace-blog]

1. Anwen Barnes – Marvel - Sub

2. John Allilueyevich – Marvel - Switch

3. Liv Laufeydottir - Marvel - Sub

4. Anya Howlett - X-Men - Sub

5. Abbi Howlett - X-Men - Dom

6. Sha'Niya Burke - X-Men - Sub

7. Jace Grayson - X-Men -Switch

8. Candi Thorsdottir – Mythos - Dom

9. Avalon Matten- Mythos - Switch

10. Mother - Doctor Who - Dom

11. Rachellia - Doctor Who - Sub

12. Izanami - Doctor Who - Dom

13. Petra Kavanagh – Shifter - Dom

14. Siobhan Kallan – Shifter - Dom

15. Reggie DeLune - Shifter - Sub

16. Chris Darcy - Shifter - Dom

17. Jasper McKidd- Shifter - Sub

18. Annie McLeod – Shifter - Switch

19. Kai Merton – Shifter - Switch

20. Gwinevere Matten - OC – Sub

21. Emberley Robinson – Oc - ??

22. Evey McLendon – OC - Sub

23. Madi Matten – OC - Sub

24. Angel Salcedo – OC -Sub

25. Jennifer Cassidy – OC - Sub

26. Betty Leavitt – OC - Sub

27. Maisha – OC - DOm

28. Zane – OC - Dom

29. Blair – OC - Sub

30. Aderyn – Inuyasha - Sub

31. Ao- Inuyasha - Sub

32. Sam Wilson – Marvel - Switch

33. Stevie Rogers - Marvel – Sub

34. James Barnes – Marvel - ??

35. Toni Stark - Marvel - Sub

36. Pietro Maxmoff – Marvel -Switch

37. Logan Howlett - Marvel - Dom

38. Jamie Rhodes – Marvel - Dom

39. Peggy Carter – Marvel - DOm

40. Ben Solo - Star Wars - Sub

41. Mirwi - Star Wars - ??

42. Pamela Isley/Poison Ivy – DC - Dom

43. Alice Cullen – Twilight - Switch

44. Kate Daniels - Kate Daniels - Dom

45. Gin Blanco - Elemental Assassins - Dom

46. Cernunnos - Mythos - Dom

47. Inari – Mythos - ??

48. Hades – Mythos - Sub

49. Ivienya - GW2 - Dom

50. Jack Harkness - Doctor Who - Switch

51. Ninth Doctor - Doctor Who - SUb

52. River Song – Doctor Who - Dom

53. Rexy - Jurassic Park -Dom

54. Girl - Jurassic Park - Sub

55. Jazz - Transformers - ??

56. Elsa - Disney - Dom

57. Kim Possible – Disney - Dom

58. Peter Pan – Disney - ??

59. Clara - Nutcracker - Sub

60. Kagome Higurashi – Inuyasha - Switch

61. Touga – Inuyasha - Dom

62. Shippou – Inuyasha - Dom

63. Kouga – Inuyasha - Sub

64. Baby – Spn - Dom

65. Cassie Robinson – Spn - Dom

66. Kenshin - Sub

67. Tohru Honda – Furuba - Sub

68. Haruhi Fujioka – OHHC - Switch

69. Alice – Wonderland - Dom

[caktoz]

Dead Jackal Gold Album.

01.No Roots -Alice Merton | 02.Different Colors - WALK THE MOON | 03.Renegades - X Ambassadors | 04.Tear in my heart - Twenty one pilots | 05.Cool Kids- Echosmith |  06.Stressed Out - Twenty one pilots | 07.Wolf in Sheep's clothing - Set it Off | 08.Underdog - Imagine Dragons | 09.Unsteady - X Ambassadors

[ L I S T E N ]

Fake OC band albumart 

Logo credit : @cynwrig

#cynwrig #denny's crap #dead jackal #i put too much work into this #playlist

[drowningvoices]

ROLEPLAY HISTORY

the rules are simple! post ten characters you’d like to roleplay as, have role played as and might bring back. then tag ten people to do the same ( if you can’t think of ten characters, just write down however many you can and tag the same amount of people ).

aside from that, please repost instead of reblogging!

CURRENTLY PLAYING

Ray Palmer ( Legends of Tomorrow )

Daniel Shaw ( Chuck )

a ton of OCs

+ Iwan Summers and Q Parr (semi-not-at-all-active)

HAVE PLAYED (buckle up kids, here comes my long list of shame + this ain’t my first mm):

Malcolm Ducasse ( Jessica Jones  )

Eric McNally ( Breakfast with Scot )

Remus Lupin ( Harry Potter )

Shaun Merton aka the 3rd probation worker ( Misfits )

Ned the Pie-Maker ( Pushing Daisies )

two drag queen OCs 

Peter Maximoff ( X-Men )

Leonard McCoy ( Star Trek )

That Pieter guy from Pitch Perfect

E-1 Harrison Wells, aka not Eobard ( The Flash )

John Grimm ( Doom )

Sebastian Moran ( Sherlock Holmes )

Ravi Chakrabarti ( iZombie )

H.M. Murdock ( The A-Team )

Gilbert Beilschmidt ( Hetalia )

Merton J. Dingle ( Big Wolf on Campus )

and even more OCs

Ah shit I almost forgot Pubi. - Pubert Addams ( Addams Family )

WOULD LIKE TO BRING BACK:

Shaun the probation worker ( - totally working on that atm btw )

Iwan and Q - the OCs

WANT TO WRITE:

let’s not go there

Jax maybe...

That guy Zachary Levi played in Heroes Reborn but without all the horrible Heroes Reborn crap and maybe all the feels and angst and hey he has super powers? (somebody stop me)

TAGGED BY: @black-bird-canary

#muted whispers & [ OOC ] #(yep okay i'm pullling ned off from here and replace him with shaun bc.... reasons)

[devonia]

A—Z Tag Meme

I was tagged by @ladylike-foxes <3

Rules: Answer the questions in a new post and tag 10 blogs you would like to get to know better.

A - Age: 22 

B - Birthplace: Boston, MA

C - Current time: 11:18 pm

D - Drink you last had: Apple cider

E - Easiest person to talk to: @ladylike-foxes, @tel-abelas-mofo, orsino (it won’t let me tag either of your blogs tumblr is garbage), and @sealedbeastnue

F - Favorite song: right now? No Roots by Alice Merton

G - Grossest memory: shower drain in my old apartment

H - Horror yes or horror no: yesssssssss

I - In love?: with myself and lizards yes

J - Jealous of people?: occasionally but i try to get rid of it

K - Kisses or hugs? cuddles

L - Love at first sight or should i walk by again?: show me a lizard and i’m in love

M - Middle name: kathryn

N - Number of siblings: 2

O - One wish: wanna see my lizard

P - Person you called last: my mom, probably

Q - Question you are always asked: “why are you like this”

R - Reason to smile: LIZARDSSS, ufos, mosasaurs, cryptids, food, my own ocs

P - Song you sang last: lol also No Roots

T - Time you woke up: around 9am

U - Underwear colour: grey

V - Vacation destination: south africa

W - Worst habit: eating bad and spending money on eating bad

X - X-rays: on my knee and ankle

Y - Your favorite food: refried beans, pasta salad, cholula, hot chocolate

Z - Zodiac sign: scropi

@anyone who hasn’t done this yet lol i’m late

#memes #;my life

[bisexualbumblebee-writes]

Locked Up Part 1- Jonathan Crane x OC

Jonathan Crane x Eden Rowe

Description: It seems that Eden’s good deed of hiding three escaped criminals has (unsurprisingly) caught up with the GCPD. She’s forced to be locked up in the place that she’d been in before Merton took her, but yet again she’s given the chance to escape Arkham Asylum. This time is different though, this time she actually likes the people breaking her out. 

Word Count: 2.1k

It seemed that the law had finally caught up to Eden. Of course she hadn’t actually broken the law (aside from what Merton made her do, but they didn’t know about that), but it could be argued that she did. As a matter of fact it was argued that she did. After all, she did technically hide three fugitives.

That’s right, word had finally gotten to the GCPD that Eden had allowed Jerome Valeska, Jeris Tetch and Jonathan Crane to stay in her home for a short time before they finally managed to escape to a safehouse. She had no idea who could’ve possibly snitched on her considering the fact that her neighbors weren’t close enough to spy on her, but someone still sang like a bird to the police and now she was paying the price for it. 

The jury found her guilty, but since she had a history of “mental illness” (based on the fact that she had been previously sent to Arkham Asylum), she was forced to plead not guilty by reason of insanity then was forced to go back to that haunting asylum. Logically she knew that her lawyer was just trying to lessen her sentence, and it was better than going to jail, but she still didn’t like the label put on her. Either way, it wasn’t exactly like she could argue with the verdict without making herself actually look crazy, so she had to grit her teeth and bear it. 

“Hey, why don’t you do me a favor and make sure that the warden doesn’t get paid off to release me to a criminal gang,” she half joked as Jim Gordon and Hervey Bullock led her to her cell along with a few guards. 

“Wait, what?” Jim stopped as they reached her new cell. 

“Nothing,” the girl answered quickly with a sweet smile before walking inside. “Have a great day, detectives.”

Within the first hour, Eden was instantly reminded of why this was her second least favorite place (aside from her childhood home). Her cell, like every other room in the building, was cold, unforgiving and lifeless. So were the people, the food, everything. She hated it so much, but what could she do about it? Nothing is the answer. So, she was forced to sit and suffer through the dullness. 

She didn’t regret helping the boys though. Maybe it was just because of Jonathan, but she found herself pitying the trio, which is why she let them in in the first place. Besides, they ended up being pleasant to live with over all. Jervis was an absolute gentleman, always offering her help and making sure to clean up after himself. And she didn’t want to kill Jerome, which was a good sign considering how much of a pain he could be. Then there was Jonathan, helping her with absolutely anything and everything she’d need. They were admittedly wonderful to live with in the end. 

And it wasn’t like that good deed didn’t go unnoticed. Because she’d encountered three of Gotham’s most dangerous criminals without dying, they automatically assumed that she was a part of their group. That gained her some notoriety amongst the other patients. They were fearful of her because they presumed that she now had connections. It made her feel a bit better because now no one wanted to be near her or start something, though she couldn’t deny that it made her time at Arkham a rather lonely experience. 

It would only get more lonely from then on. After a short while patients became too antsy in anticipation of some terrible stunt they believed she was about to pull (though she truly had nothing) and began lashing out at the thought of having to be anywhere near her. The fact that she had to release a demon and gain another every so often only served to make them even more fearful. Not wanting a riot to break out because of just one teenage girl, the guards opted to simply place her in solitary confinement. They tried to convince her that it was for her own good, but she could see right through it and knew that it was just because they didn’t want to have to properly deal with the patients. Yet again she had to suffer in Arkham for something she really didn’t have control of. 

Something good came out of solitary confinement though, something that the guards didn’t notice (or maybe just didn’t care about). During her second night in her new room she couldn’t sleep. So, she decided to explore it. Of course, there was only a toilet and a bed in the room, but she decided to take her chances. Maybe she’d find something that the cleanup crew missed. And sure enough, they did. It was as she was looking under the bed that she found something. 

It was a piece of paper that looked like nothing special at first, but upon turning it over she realized it was a drawing. Her eyebrows shot up as she examined it. It was a scarecrow, a creepy one at that, drawn with either charcoal or just a pencil. The person who drew it obviously saw them as something to be feared. 

“Jonathan,” she whispered, not even realizing that she’d said it at first. It made sense though. How many people went to Arkham afraid of scarecrows? The only person she knew for sure was afraid of them was the boy she’d saved from the basement of Merton’s house. At some point when he, Jervis and Jerome were staying with her, he told her all about his father and how Merton and Grady exploited his phobia in order to get him to comply. That was when she finally understood his fears, though she had no reason to make fun of him in the first place. 

Now, logically speaking there was bound to be more than one person who was afraid of scarecrows, but the thought that this could be Jonathan’s drawing is what comforted her the most, so that’s what she decided to believe. She kept it hidden from the guards (though it’s not like they really paid attention, it was just a precaution) during the day, either keeping it on her person or just placing it under her pillow or bed. At night she would take it out and just stare at it, wishing that she was still back at her house with Jonathan the boys. 

Things continued like that for several more weeks. She’d just lay around her cell wishing that she could be around the other patients, eat, look at art, sleep, repeat. It was a routine she very quickly got tired of. Some days she had therapy, but she fully believed there wasn’t really anything they could fix. So, her therapist didn’t really try. Instead they spent their hour just talking before she had to go back to her cell. 

Tonight she had the privilege of being allowed to color before bedtime, so that’s what she was doing. She had been in the middle of coloring in Minnie Mouse’s dress when something caught her attention. She paused, trying to figure out what it was. It didn’t take her long to realize that there was distant screaming. That wasn’t entirely uncommon in a literal insane asylum, so she brushed it off at first. But then she realized it wasn’t a pained or crazed scream, instead being one of joy. 

Her brows furrowed as she looked at her door. Despite the fact that she knew she probably wouldn’t see much, Eden still found herself carefully standing and walking over to the door. The screaming seemed to be coming from the left, but she couldn’t see anything. It was just seconds later when she heard something on her right. They were apparently footsteps because no time passed from that point to when she watched several guards run past her cell, all yelling over each other. She couldn’t figure out what exactly they were yelling about, but she did manage to catch two words in the chaos: prison break. 

Naturally, that piqued her interest. What are the odds that there was already another prison break after Jerome, Jervis and Jonathan escaped? Nevertheless, there was nothing she could do behind her locked door. Besides, she wasn’t really keen to get in trouble once this was all over, so she decided to just go back to her activity. She sat back down and picked up her crayon. 

Several minutes passed as she continued to color. It was only when she heard a loud bang that she lost her concentration. She flinched away out of habit then snapped her head in the direction of the noise. It was fair to say that she was considerably surprised to see that her door had been kicked in, and someone was standing in the doorway. There was much more light in the hallway than there was in her cell, which caused a shadow to cover the assailant’s face from Eden’s view. She was quick to scoot to the farthest corner of her bed and cower away, in an attempt to make herself smaller before the person spoke. 

“Eden.” Despite the voice modulator making his voice deeper (and creepier), the girl instantly recognized that voice. 

“Jonathan?” She asked, voice soft and somewhat nervous. It was rhetorical, she knew that it was him. That’s why she all but cried in relief and scrambled off her bed to run into the boy’s open arms. She clung to him like he would disappear when she let go. After all, he’d done it when he and the others finally left her apartment. 

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” she muttered, voice muffled a bit by his burlap shirt. 

“Same to you,” the boy responded in the same tone, stroking her hair for a moment before pulling away to look at her. “Are you ready to go?” Eden smiled and nodded as he took her hand, but just as Jonathan was about to lead her out of the room, she stopped. 

“Wait a second,” she said before running back to her bed and grabbing the folded up drawing. “Alright, let’s go.” She allowed him to take her hand again and together they ran out towards the main room. As she passed one of the guard break rooms she noticed the guards from earlier writhing in agony or cowering while either screaming or crying. Eden would be correct in guessing that Jonathan had used his toxin on them. Upon reaching the main room she was met by two more familiar faces. 

“Hiya dollface,” Jerome greeted slyly. “I didn’t know black and white stripes could ever look so good.” Eden, having gotten used to his antics, merely rolled her eyes with a smile. 

“Hey Jerome, hi Jervis,” she responded. The latter offered her a charming smile. 

“Always a pleasure to once again say hello, Miss Rowe. Now that we have the last of our crew we must leave before police come to pursue.” It looked like Jerome was about to comment about the man’s rhymes, but Jonathan agreed before he could say anything. Without another word the four of them all ran out of the building to a black car that sat in front of it. It took them no time to get in, and Jerome peeled out of the driveway just as Eden closed her door. 

“Hold onto your seats,” he called with a laugh as he sped past the asylum gate pushing a hundred miles an hour. Eden was tempted to put on her seatbelt, but ultimately decided against it in case they were chased and needed to get out quickly. 

No one ever came after them though. After a short while of driving without being given chase, the quartet deemed it safe enough to slow down. A collective sigh of relief sounded through the car. Now that they weren’t in any immediate danger, a few laughs were shared about the fact that the escape was successful. Eden, who sat beside Jonathan, leaned against him as she glanced out the window. 

“Where are we going now?” 

“There’s a safehouse on the other side of the city. That’s gonna be your new home- at least until things calm down,” Jonathan explained, subconsciously wrapping an arm around her so they would both be comfortable. The girl nodded shyly, offering him a weak smile before allowing her head to fall on his shoulder. That’s how they spent the rest of the car ride, in the safety of each other’s arms.

#gotham #gotham imagine #gotham scarecrow #jonathan crane #scarecrow #Jonathan crane x oc #jonathan crane imagine #scarecrow x oc #scarecrow imagine

[bisexualbumblebee-writes]

Debts- Jonathan Crane x OC

Jonathan Crane x Eden Rowe

Description: Turns out debts are what brought the Scarecrow to Eden Rowe.

Word Count: 2.4k

Eden always credited her father striking a deal with a demon to bring her back to life was the worst thing to happen to her. And it still was, don’t get her wrong, but she found that being forced into Merton’s gang was (unironically) hell. There were days that she desperately wished that he hadn’t taken notice of her when she was in Arkham Asylum, that he had just moved on and not recognized her from the newspapers.

But of course, when has life ever gone her way? He did notice her and recognize her unique abilities that could potentially help him in the future. Once he paid the warden off, he left with her in tow and explained that she was now indebted to him for his “good deed”. She was forced to do his bidding and only came around when he called like a dog. Eventually she had to get used to the fact that was a criminal and would probably never be free of Merton’s grip. After all, why would he get rid of something so useful?

Logically, she knew that she could just kill him and be over with it, but she had made a deal with herself and her demons after her father’s murder that they would only kill out of necessity or when Merton needed something from someone. It was a curse, and one that she sometimes wished she hadn’t made when Merton pushed her buttons, but life went on.

It wasn’t until almost two years later that she seriously considered breaking her deal and murdering Merton in cold blood. She had just walked inside their hideout after receiving some money that the man in question was owed from another gang. She sighed when she realized it was empty, they must have been on a heist. Just as she was about to turn around and leave, she heard whimpering coming from another room. She paused, straining her ears to figure out where exactly it was coming from.

“Who cares?” One of her demons, Gukrith, questioned boredly. “Let’s just go.”

“Shut up,” she muttered in response as she continued to listen. It didn’t take her long to realize that it was coming from the-

“Basement,” Gu’rath, another entity, informed her despite the fact that she had figured it out just a second prior. Nevertheless she thanked it and followed the noise to the door to the basement. Her brows furrowed and she prepared to use her powers in case it was a trap as she slowly lifted a hand to the doorknob. Carefully opening the door, it took a moment for her eyes to adjust to the dark, but she quickly spotted a boy sitting at the top of the stairs close to the door. By the way he was still hunched, she guessed that he hadn’t noticed her.

“Hello?” She called gently. The boy flinched at her voice, then whipped around to face her. For a moment he just sat there, as if processing that she was there, but then he stood up and practically lunged at her. Rather than attacking her like she originally thought, it seemed as if he was just trying to get as far away from the basement as possible.

“Please get it away from me! Get it away!” He exclaimed desperately. Eden was confused for a moment but she quickly understood that he was talking about the basement so she slammed the door closed.

When she turned to face the boy her eyes widened in shock as his hands gripped her calves, then trailed up to hold her hands tightly. After a minute of just standing there she realized that he was muttering thank yous over and over again as he continued to cry. Eden stuttered nonsense, attempting to wrap her head around what was going on.

“What- who are you? How did you get into the basement?” She asked worriedly as her hands squeezed his in an attempt to be comforting. It took several minutes for the boy to muster up the courage to say something aside from ‘thank you.’

“M-M…Mer,” he stuttered, sounding terrified. Eden’s eyes softened a bit and she carefully crouched down so she was eye to eye with them.

“Hey, hey hey,” she called soothingly, which made him stop and look at her in time for her to offer him a kind smile.

“It’s okay, just take your time,” she continued gently. “Start slow. What’s your name?” He nodded quickly then looked down at their still clasped hands.

“Jon…Jonathan,” he muttered quietly. She nodded slowly.

“Okay, Jonathan. What were you doing in the basement, and why are you here?” Her patience stayed throughout her questions, which seemed to relax Jonathan. Before he could answer, the front door opened and she could hear Merton’s voice grow closer.

“Oh-ho-ho Jonny boy, you just made me a much happier man,” he called happily, but stopped as he reached the hallway to the basement. He took a moment to assess the sight before him, and Eden noticed a small amount of panic in his eyes before he eased into a much more relaxed grin.

“Ah, Edie, I see you’ve met our newest recruit,” he said before glancing at Jonathan. “Jonny, this is our little troublemaker, Eden. You may get to see her more often if you keep up with that little serum. But for now,” he trailed off. Instantly Eden could feel Jonathan begin trembling again but before she could do anything he was ripped away from her, Merton beginning to drag him back to the basement while he struggled.

“No!” She attempted to reach for him again, but was stopped by Grady, who she hadn’t even realized had walked in behind his cousin. The younger man was successful in holding the now panicking girl back.

“Merton STOP!” Eden hadn’t even realized that she had said anything, mostly because it wasn’t technically her. Gu’rath had been the one to take control for just a moment to stop Merton from dragging the boy. Both sets of eyes were on Eden now as she calmed down and took control of her body once again.

“Let him go,” she said, now calm. By now Merton had gotten used to her powers, but he still dropped Jonathan much slower than she would have liked.

“He helped you with a big heist, I think it’s more than fair of you to reward him. Maybe with food and actual sunlight,” she continued. Merton pursed his lips in thought before ultimately scoffing.

“Fine, but you’re cooking for him. Me and the boys are going out for drinks.” He nodded at Grady, who promptly threw the girl on the ground.

“We’ll be seeing you later. Feel free to leave when you’re done with him,” he said as the two walked out followed by the rest of the gang. Eden waited until the door closed behind them before sighing.

“Are you okay?” She asked gently as she stood, holding out a hand to him afterwards. He stared at her hand before gingerly taking it and standing with her help.

“Yeah, are you?” He asked hesitantly as he followed her into the kitchen area.

“Yeah. Don’t worry about me, I’m used to stuff like this,” she shrugged as she began searching for something to feed him. Jonathan took a seat at the counter and watched as she pulled out a frozen pizza, placing it in the oven. It was silent for a while before he eventually spoke up.

“So uh, Eden?” The girl looked at him, humming in response.

“Do you…have any advice on how to survive in Merton’s gang?” He asked softly, looking as if he hated asking it. Eden scoffed quietly then shook her head, leaning against the counter across from him.

“You want advice? Get out of here as fast as you can,” she muttered bitterly, pushing off the counter when the oven beeped signaling that the food was done. “I know Gotham isn’t exactly the safest city, but you seem like a good guy and I don’t want you mingling with the likes of Merton.”

“If that’s the case, then why haven’t you left?” He questioned.

“Where would I go?” She shot back. “My parents are dead and I don’t have anyone else to go to. The only reason I don’t live here is because I would’ve killed myself if I stayed. I’ve just gotta do what needs to be done to get by,” she paused and rested her hand over his. The gesture made him blush.

“Jonathan, don’t let yourself get to that point. Please just get out of here in any way you can, okay?” After receiving a nod from the boy, she shot him a small smile then sliced his pizza and finally set it in front of him.

“Hey Jon,” she called softly, which caught his attention. “If you ever do get out of here, come back for me?” She knew it was a long shot asking him considering they’d only met today, but she couldn’t help the fuzzy feeling inside her when he nodded with a small smile.

Eden assumed that things would go on as normal after that. But then Merton stopped calling for her “assistance.” She secretly hoped that he had finally deemed her debts paid off, but she knew that wasn’t the case. Of course she wasn’t about to go investigate. When Merton needed her help, he would contact her.

Yet, at the same time, she couldn’t help but find herself worrying about Jonathan. She had no idea why he stayed on her mind. Maybe it was just the genuine fear he had for the basement? Or maybe it was the way he was so grateful for her help that made her feel good. Nevertheless, she still wasn’t about to go back to Merton’s place unless beckoned. It was about self preservation, not selfishness. She just hoped that Jonathan understood.

One could imagine her surprise one day when she picked up the newspaper to find a note taped to the top of it. It was a small slip of paper that covered up the front page’s picture with one phrase on it:

Consider your debts repaid.

Her brows furrowed and she pulled the tape off to see Merton on the front page. Upon reading the headline she realized that Merton had been arrested after trying to rob the Iceberg Lounge. A spark of joy ran through Eden upon reading through the story. She no longer had to worry about being his dog, she was free of Merton. She desperately wished that she could go look for Jonathan, but there would probably be police swarming the hideout so she couldn’t go. She dreaded to think of what happened to that poor boy she saved from whatever was in the basement with him.

Eden opted to just stay out of sight and out of mind from that point on. Now she only worked jobs that interested her, but aside from that she was living comfortably with some money that she knew Merton had stored away for safekeeping. Life was going pretty good for her until one day a knock came from her door.

She had to admit she was confused as she didn’t live close enough to her neighbors for a housecall, and even then it would be for something urgent. Her mind ran through the possibilities of who it could be as she slowly made her way to the door. It was only when a more urgent knock rang out that she became defensive. She prepared herself in case she needed to use her powers as she carefully turned the doorknob. What was on the other side surprised her more than anything else could have.

There were three people. Two, she immediately recognized, were Jervis Tetch a.k.a. The Mad Hatter and Jerome Valeska. The one standing at the forefront of the trio was the one she didn’t know. They had a brown cloth bag covering their head. All three of them wore the same striped outfits, and Eden chose the worst time to remember the news informing the citizens of Gotham that there had been a prison break at Arkham Asylum. So potentially three of the city’s most dangerous and deranged criminals were at her doorstep.

“Uh, hi?” Because, what else was she supposed to say?

“Nothing,” Gukrith said menacingly. “Let’s just kill them and get them out of our hair.” She fought the urge to roll her eyes at that and internally told the demon a definitive no. It was right after that her eyes met the leader of the trio’s eyes. Wait, had she seen those eyes before? Where did she recognize them from? Almost as if realizing that the person was still hiding their identity, they carefully pulled the sack off of their head. Eden’s eyes widened.

“Jonathan?” She asked softly, visibly and verbally in disbelief. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed Jervis lean forward a bit.

“Actually, my dear,” he started, but was cut off by the boy in question.

“Yeah, it’s me,” he answered gently. “I need your help, we need a place to stay until the heat dies down about the break.” For a moment Eden could only stare at the three of them for a moment as she debated her options. Then, against her better judgment, she opened the door wider to allow them to step inside.

“Come in,” she said. “But don’t think we won’t be talking about this.”

“Oh, I like her,” Jerome said, shooting a grin at Jonathan as he passed, stepping through the doorway.

“You needn’t fear us, my dear. Hopefully we will be gone as soon as we appear,” Jervis added as he walked in, which made the girl raise an eyebrow incredulously before facing Jonathan.

“Does he always rhyme things?”

“You get used to it,” the boy retorted flatly as he walked in as well, closing the door behind him. Before he could get far though, Eden stopped him and pulled him into a tight hug. The boy tensed under her touch before finally relaxing and returning the gesture.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” she muttered quietly, looking up at him. He offered her a small smile before hugging her again.

“You too, Edie.” Edie. She hadn’t heard that name since she was still working for Merton, but it sounded much more pleasant this time around. Maybe because it was Jonathan saying it.

“Thank you for letting us stay,” he said upon finally pulling away. Eden offered him a kind smile.

“Consider it a debt to be repaid,” she responded, making both of them laugh as she led him towards the living room.

#gotham #gotham imagine #jonathan crane #scarecrow #gotham scarecrow #scarecrow x oc #Jonathan crane x oc #scarecrow imagine #jonathan crane imagine

[blairsanne]

In the Cards (16)

Big Wolf on Campus fanfic. Merton x OC. [Tommy also gets some pairings.]

Chapter Summary: Kalida finds a way to solve the Joelle problem, but alienates Tommy in the process. When Tommy is kidnapped by an ice spirit, Margaret inserts herself into Merton and Kalida's rescue efforts. 8140 words

CW: The usual level of violence from the show.

Tommy ran his hands through his hair for the hundredth time, making it stand on end. He was sitting on the floor in Merton's lair, having just finished telling him and Kalida what had happened at Joelle's place, and that she was the hunter who had been harassing them.

Kalida was the first to break the tense silence that had fallen between them. Her voice was small. "Is she going to hurt you?" Tommy's eyes didn't leave the floor. "I dunno." "What do we do now?" "I dunno."

Kalida glanced over at Merton, sitting beside her on the couch. He was quietly picking the black polish off his nails, face abnormally sour. "Merton, any ideas?" "I'm thinking." "I'm an idiot," Tommy sighed. Kalida shook her head. "No, it's not your fault."

"Well, he could have told us L was Joelle before going off to confront her," Merton spat, gesturing sharply. "Merton," Kalida frowned, feeling defensive for her cousin. "What were you thinking, Tommy? You could have gotten killed!" Tommy hung his head and ran his hands through his hair again. "I know."

"I'm sure he was hoping his girlfriend would accept him," Kalida retorted softly. "Well, still…" Merton deflated somewhat, crossing his arms as he looked away. "We need to keep Tommy safe from her somehow." "Just leave her alone," Tommy sighed.

Merton raised a brow, turning to face Tommy again. "What? Tommy, if she exposes you, you could be killed, or worse - carted off to some secret government lab, never to be heard from again as they run experiments-" Kalida put her hands up. "Okay, we're not letting that happen, so let's come up with a plan. What are our options here?"

Merton rubbed his chin. "Well, we know her secret identity now. I guess we could blackmail her into silence." Kalida considered it. "Yeah, I guess I just don't know how we could expose her though. Like, nobody is gonna believe us if we say, hey, this girl is a monster hunter." "She did attack Trevor, though. We could turn her into the police for assault." "That just puts us all at risk, though, because Trevor is a vampire, and Tommy was involved."

"Just leave it," Tommy interjected. "Just leave her alone. It doesn't matter." "Tommy-" "I'm not normal, I'm never gonna be normal, I'm never gonna be able to have normal relationships. Just let whatever's gonna happen happen."

Kalida sighed and got up. She crossed the area and crouched down in front of where he was sitting on the floor, then placed one hand on his knee. "Not to rain on your pity party, but I don't plan on losing you to a monster hunter any time soon. So you're gonna have to accept that your friends are going to protect you." "What's the point?" "Well, you know, selfishly, I kinda like you, so I want to keep you around," she laughed softly. "Yeah, it's pretty inconvenient how you went and dated a werewolf hunter. Might want to work on that," Merton added teasingly.

Tommy looked up at them, and Kalida noted his weary expression. "I think we should sleep over here tonight, just so we can all be together," she suggested. "Sure. I'm beat."

---

Kalida stared at the candelabrum on Merton's coffee table. She'd been lying on the couch, staring into the darkness of the room long enough that her eyes had completely adjusted. She checked the clock again. 1:27am. She listened carefully, picking out the different rhythms of Tommy and Merton's snores from the other end of the room. How can they sleep?

She'd been playing out potential scenarios in her mind since they'd turned in for the night. What if Joelle reported Tommy to some secret agency like Merton had said? What if Joelle attacked them all again? What if she sicced some other hunters on Tommy?

The more she'd gone over it in her head, the more Joelle seemed like a liability. But it's not like we kill people.

She recalled their first encounter with L. They'd just been trying to watch a movie, and suddenly a hunter was pointing a weapon at them, in Merton's own house. Joelle knew where they all lived, went to school, everything. There would be no hiding from her.

We can't just do nothing, even if Tommy wants us to.

She mulled it over, hair raising on the back of her neck as a plan came to her from the ether. Slowly, she pushed herself up off the couch. She felt strange in the dark room, slightly electric with the energy of doing something in secret. She looked over toward the bed and listened again; two snoring patterns. You just keep sleeping.

She crept over to Merton's bookshelves behind his desk, and opened an ornate, velvet covered box. Inside were dozens of tiny plastic bags containing hair and nail samples from Tommy, each labeled with a date. She took one a few weeks old and pocketed it before closing the box again.

She paused again, and listened for their snoring. Merton must have had something in his sinuses, because he was being quite loud. She felt her pulse as she strained to hear if Tommy was asleep.

Unsure, she walked slowly towards the bathroom, trying to seem casual. Once she'd closed the door to the small room, she turned on the light, immediately regretting it as her eyes stung and fought to stay closed.

She stood in front of the counter for a moment, and caught her reflection in the mirror. You can do this. She took Merton's brush from the counter and dug her nails between the bristles to remove as much of his hair as she could. She stared at the mass of black between her fingers and wondered to herself how she'd become this person. She pocketed the clump and washed her hands, then turned the light back off. Blinking and looking from side to side as her eyes adjusted again, she waited a long moment before opening the door to the lair. She shuffled quietly toward the back door, grabbing her purse on her way. She said a silent prayer as she snuck out, hoping the turning of the lock didn't wake the boys up.

Betsy was parked conveniently close, but she locked the door to the back of the camper once she was inside, just in case. She fumbled in the dark for her box of candles and quickly lit one for the small table.

I need her to forget all about us.

Kalida rummaged through her cabinets, pulling out various crystals and herbs, black candles, and a small glass jar with a handful of dried mushrooms inside. She plugged in her hot plate and set a metal camping pot on top. That'll have to sub in as a cauldron tonight. She poured a mostly-full bottle of water into the pot and turned the hot plate on max.

Falling into a sort of focused trance, she let her gaze soften as she arranged the crystals and candles in a circle around the hot plate instinctively. As she lit the candles she murmured her welcome to the powers that be, and told them of her intent.

She sprinkled Merton's hair into the water first, then carefully took some of Tommy's from the sample bag and added it in. Finally, she pulled a few long strands of her own hair from her head and used a wooden spoon to stir the mess around. Closing her eyes, she used the spoon to trace protection sigils over the potion, murmuring to herself.

"Goddess made thee woman and dog, nose to the ground and let me be."

She took the jar of mushrooms next, hesitating to open it. She knew that morally, she shouldn't be trying to control others with her magic. She thought of stopping. Leaving Joelle alone, like Tommy had asked. But the thought of Joelle doing something to Tommy now that she knew his secret only made the hateful pit in her abdomen twist further. I won't do nothing to protect us.

She dropped two dried fungi into the pot, watching as they leeched color into the water, turning it a murky brown.

"Dark is the hour, dark is the kind, Dark is the potion, dark is the mind."

She closed her eyes and held her hands toward the circle of stones and candles as the water reached a rolling boil. She repeated her intent and rhymes, focusing her energy into the potion until she felt as though it had passed through her. She let out a loud breath and dropped her hands, then flicked off the hot plate.

She pulled a travel mug from one of the cupboards and carefully poured the concoction into it, then blew out the candles. In the dark, she thanked her guides and asked for protection as she completed her task.

She rolled her shoulders and regained her focus, coming back into the present moment. She carefully climbed into the driver's seat and put the travel mug in her cup holder. Now or never.

---

Kalida sighed with relief as she entered Joelle's apartment building. The front door was locked, but someone had left the back door slightly ajar. She passed by what appeared to be a laundry room, and made her way quietly through the halls, hoping she didn't wake any of the neighbours.

Finding Joelle's apartment door, she steeled herself. She could feel her pulse in her neck and a twisting ache in her gut, but she gripped the travel mug and knocked loudly on the door. She heard a small crashing sound, then fumbling inside the apartment. After a long moment, Joelle opened the door with a silver knife raised in an offensive position.

"What the hell do y-What the-" Joelle sputtered as the now-cooled potion splattered across her face. "Lose all memory of we three," Kalida began, voice cold but shaking. Joelle sucked in a shallow breath as her eyes flashed black, and then grew still. "Leave town by sunlight and never return."

Joelle's arm slowly lowered and she blinked, color returning to her eyes though her face was somewhat vacant looking. Door left open, she turned back into her apartment and began to gather her belongings.

Kalida bolted down the hallway and out into the dark of the night.

---

Kalida carefully let herself back into the lair. She did her best to close the door quietly behind her, then jumped when the lights flicked on.

"What did you do?" Tommy growled. He was sitting on the edge of the bed beside Merton. Kalida turned and sheepishly raised her shoulders. "Nothing?" Merton sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Well if you're going to lie, you could do better than that."

She rolled her eyes and dropped the innocent body language, making a bee-line for Merton's desk. "I took care of it." "You-" Tommy blinked. "You what?" Kalida flicked on Merton's computer and started typing, then grabbed the phone, dialing a number from memory. "I gotta make a phone call. I'll pay you back the long distance, Merton." "Kalida." Tommy started crossing the room, his eyes glowing. "What do you mean you took care of it?" "I didn't do anything awful, relax."

The line rang as Merton slowly made his way over to the desk, face scrunched up in uncertainty. "Just some magic." The other line finally picked up. Kalida held an index finger up as the phone rang against her ear. "One sec."

"Hello..?" A groggy male voice answered. "Hey Isaac. It's Kalida. I need to hire you for a job." "It's like two in the damn morning, 'Lida. Can we talk later?" "No, I need it now. Like, mad rush. Please." Isaac sighed heavily. "Fine. But I'm not cheap when my sleep is interrupted." "That's fine." "So what's the job?" Isaac slumped into his desk chair and woke his computer up.

Kalida logged Merton out of MSN and put her own credentials in. "I need you to scrub an account off a forum. I'll send you the link to the profile." "You forget your password?" "It's not my account. I just need all the posts wiped and the account deleted." "Are you serious?" Isaac followed the link she'd sent him. "Wait is this- is this for real? Or like a roleplay forum or something?"

Kalida chewed her bottom lip and glanced up at Tommy and Merton, then back to the computer screen. "Um, nevermind that, can you do it?" "Well yeah, I can do it. But answer the question. Is this for real? These people actually hunt werewolves and stuff?" "Certainly seems like they think they do." "Jesus…" Kalida heard the clacking of Isaac's keyboard.

"You know, the user could have emails of replies and whatnot." "Seriously?" Kalida sighed. "Yeah, I'll wipe the email too if you like." "Um… yeah, okay. Thanks. How much?" "Honestly Kalida, at this point you owe me some serious coin or an actual conversation about what the hell you and your friends are getting up to in that little horror movie town." "Uh… yeah. Well, let's, um, let's talk later, then." "I'll hold you to that." "Thanks. Um. Bye." "Byezerz."

Merton snorted as Kalida hung up and logged off his computer. "So blue boy's a cyber criminal now?" "What?" Tommy looked between the two of them. "What was that all about?" Kalida rubbed her arm as she looked up at Merton's raised brow. "Yeah, Isaac's good at hacking into accounts. Lucky for us." Tommy crossed his arms. "Can you explain what's going on now?"

"R-right." Kalida sighed and glanced at the clock. Seeing the time she felt the weight of her exhaustion hit all at once, the adrenaline wearing off. "Basically I used magic to wipe Joelle's memory of us." "You can do that?" Merton interrupted, his annoyance turning to surprise. "I guess." Kalida shrugged. "And for extra measure, Isaac's erasing the digital footprint of her interacting with us." She stood up and gestured at the chair. "Merton, you should delete your posts, too." He sighed and nodded. "Yeah, alright." He rolled his shoulders, then yawned as he set to work.

"So she doesn't remember anything about me?" Tommy asked quietly. Kalida nodded. "Err… If all went to plan, yeah." "I can't believe you." Tommy shook his head, flaring his nostrils as he walked back to the bed. "Well it's not like I could kill her, Tommy," Kalida called defensively. Tommy flopped onto the bed. "You didn't have to do anything." "Well, you didn't do anything."

He ran his hands over his face. "She wouldn't have killed me." "Tommy, you're a werewolf. She's a monster hunter. That's like, exactly what she does." "You don't know that. She might have come around. We could have talked more." Kalida pouted, slumping into the couch. "And you did it while we were sleeping, so you knew I'd be against it." "Yeah, well I don't feel like you've been taking this very seriously. No offense." Tommy's tone was biting. "Not as seriously as erasing someone's memories, no. You do that often?"

Merton flicked off his monitor and headed back toward the bed. "No." She pulled the blankets up over her face. "But I'm willing to be extreme to protect people I care about."

A heavy silence fell between them. Merton looked between the two cousins, then flicked off the lights. He crawled into the bed beside Tommy, who was facing away. "Whatever," Tommy huffed at last. Kalida's voice was quiet on the other side of the room. "'Night."

---

It was a rare occasion for Tommy not to be puttering around the kitchen stuffing his face while Kalida made breakfast.

"Dean, where's Tommy?!" she called to her other cousin. Dean's eyes didn't leave the television screen as he called back. "Oh, he left ages ago, little cuz. Something about practice or something." Kalida scoffed as she put the milk back in the fridge. "Liar," she muttered under her breath. "You never have practice before school."

She shut the fridge door and leaned against it. They had exchanged a few frosty words the day before at Merton's house before Tommy had left in a huff, and she'd been getting the silent treatment ever since. She played with the pendant on her necklace absent-mindedly. Merton's talking about moving away and Tommy's stonewalling me.

She sighed and rushed to finish getting ready for school.

---

Tommy slumped into his seat for first period. Merton nodded at him, forcing a casual tone. "Morning." "Hey man," Tommy sighed, pulling out his books.

Merton pursed his lips, feeling his shoulders start to hunch. It had been so tense over the weekend, but by Sunday night, Merton had been feeling pretty normal again. Looks like Tommy's gonna need a little longer. "You wanna do something tonight? Guys' night out?"

Tommy made a non-committal noise. "Ah, I dunno, Merton. Not really feeling up for something like that."

Tommy had snuck out in the middle of the night to see if he could find Joelle at work or home, but the Bucket said she'd called in her resignation. Her apartment had been completely cleared out by the time he'd stopped by, her door left unlocked. If she remembered anything about him, she hadn't made any effort to say goodbye or leave any indication of where she was going.

Merton nodded. "That's… more than fair. If you change your mind, though, we could just play games in the Lair or something." "Thanks. I'm just kinda beat." Tommy thumbed the corner of his notebook, then looked over at him. "I'll think about it, though." Merton's posture relaxed a bit and he smiled despite himself. "Okay, sounds good."

Tommy found himself smiling crookedly and clapped his hand down on Merton's shoulder. "Thanks, man." Merton shrugged and made a strange noise, waving his hand at Tommy. "Pah."

---

By lunch time, Merton had managed to get a few laughs out of Tommy, and the two settled into their usual seats in the cafeteria. Tommy's tray was piled with fried chicken and two milk cartons.

Merton was animatedly telling a story that Tommy was barely following, more amused by Merton's usual antics than the specifics. "So there we were, deep in the Lich's lair, no potions left-"

"Hey." They both turned to see Kalida standing awkwardly at the end of their table, holding a lunch tray. "Can I sit here?"

Merton flashed her an easy smile and motioned to the seat beside him. Kalida and Tommy held tense gazes for a long moment before Tommy grimaced and looked away. "Tommy. Can I sit here?" Merton glanced between them as Tommy pointedly ignored her. Her voice was soft. "Are you just going to ignore me forever now?"

The people at the table behind them started glancing their way as Kalida waited for an answer. Merton piped up. "Just sit, it's fine."

Tommy turned to Kalida, his voice quiet, but pointed. "Yeah, why don't we just forget all about it?" "Nevermind." Kalida dropped her tray on the table and walked off toward the exit.

Merton looked around, noting the many eyes on their table. He moved Kalida's food onto his tray and stood up. "Real classy, Tom." Tommy scoffed. "You're on her side now?" "She offered you an olive branch and you threw it in her face." He picked up his now-full tray and hesitated a moment. "For the record, I'm always on the side of you-not-getting-killed."

With that, Merton left to find his girlfriend.

---

Kalida started at the knock on Betsy's door. "You in there, Kali?" Merton looked around nervously, noting T&T walking in his general direction. "Oh, yeah, come in!"

She wiped her face dry, sniffling as he stepped inside with his lunch tray. "Brought your food." "Oh, you didn't have to do that…" She helped him get the tray set on the small table, then locked the door of the camper. She fidgeted, avoiding eye contact. "You probably should have stayed with Tommy. He's still upset with what I did." "Ehhh… I'll see him later." Merton stepped closer to her in the small space, taking one of her hands in his. "I wanted to make sure you were okay, and that you ate your lunch." She squeezed his fingers softly. "Thanks."

"Gotta get all your vitamins," he chastised softly, running his other hand gently over her facial features. "Take care of that cute nose, and cheeks…" She felt the color rise in her cheeks as his thumb trailed scantily over her lips. She swallowed, holding his gaze as she felt the tension that was now familiar every time they were alone together.

He leaned in for a sweet kiss, lingering with their noses touching as her free hand moved up his chest. For a moment he contemplated blowing off the rest of the school day to spend it pursuing that particular interest. Thinking better of it, Merton took a deep breath and backed off, laughing awkwardly. "W-we should eat."

"Right." Kalida ran a hand through her hair and sat down at the small table. She cleared her throat as she picked up the sandwich she'd left in the lunchroom. "You didn't say much yesterday about what I did." "Yeah…" Merton picked at his chicken strips. "I guess it just made things worse." "No, that's-" Merton sighed and made a gesture. "It's just kind of intimidating." Kalida's face scrunched in confusion. "In what way?"

"I mean… Tommy's a werewolf. You can erase people's memories. Isaac's a hacker." He snorted. "I've got the aesthetic down." He laughed self-deprecatingly. "Merton-" "And what's to stop you from just erasing our memories if you wanted?" he continued. "Just get bored of all this and-" He mimed leaving.

She chewed on a bite while digesting his remarks. "I think you overestimate my abilities, first off. I can't just… do whatever I want on command." "Could have fooled me." She shook her head. "I basically have to be in trouble. Like… really, really desperate. And then it's like something comes over me. Or, like, through me." Merton took a long swig of Yoohoo, mulling it over.

"I was so scared that night," she admitted quietly. "I had this awful feeling that Tommy was going to get himself killed. I couldn't sleep, and then I just… knew what to do." "I'm not saying I'm not grateful. It does seem like it took care of the problem." Merton put down his empty can. "But I think Tommy's rightfully miffed. I mean, what if someone just erased all my memories of you without warning?" Kalida nodded. "I know. I should have talked to you guys, or-" she sighed. "I'm sorry, Merton." He shrugged. "Ah, I'm fine. You don't have to apologize to me."

"Okay, but like…" She leaned into the small table between them, holding eye contact. "You're both so important to me. I wouldn't do something like that to you, I promise. I would never want to hurt you, or trick you, or-" "Yeah, I know." An easy, crooked grin pulled his lips. "Really. Don't even worry about it." Her eyes fell to her lunch. "Do you think Tommy will forgive me, or get over it, or whatever…?" Merton considered the question seriously. "Tommy didn't come to the same conclusions we did about Joelle being a threat, so it might take him a little longer to come around to your independent solution." He picked at a brownie from the tray. "But it's not like he can stay mad at you forever." "I dunno. He's been pretty consistent so far."

Merton sighed. "Have you apologized?" Kalida picked at her sandwich. "I mean… he won't let me talk to him, so no…" She shrugged. "And, you know, it's kinda shitty that I'm the bad guy for protecting him. And you. And myself." "Just because you had good intentions doesn't mean Tommy wasn't hurt by it, though." "Yeah." She shoved her food in her mouth, then rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I know."

"Oh, hey, so," Merton reached into his pocket and pulled out a key. "I thought I should give you this." She took the key and raised a brow. "What's it for?" "Well, last night, when you left, you left the door unlocked. I assume so you could come back in without waking us up. So… Just in case you need to leave again." He rubbed the back of his neck. "After Joelle came in uninvited I've been kind of paranoid about locking up."

She felt her cheeks getting hot and hoped he hadn't noticed. "Okay, thanks." "Also, it might come in handy if something happens to me… then you guys can still go to the lair for supplies, or whatever." "Oh, that's smart." "And… you know, if you ever need a place to hide out, or… You know, you're just, always welcome, so…"

She tried to stifle a laugh at his rambling. He was being really sweet. "Thank you so much, Merton." "I-it's no big deal. I gave one to Tommy, too."

Toward the end of the lunch period, they stepped out of the camper in good spirits. Kalida shivered as a cool breeze swept across the parking lot. "Yikes, that's an icy wind." Merton laughed and wrapped his arms around her. "I thought Canadians didn't get cold?" She stuck her tongue out at him. "Har har."

"Hey! You two!" They started as Hugo started yelling at them, shaking his baton at them. "No knoodling on campus!" Merton made a face of annoyance as he removed his arms from around her shoulders, and muttered under his breath. "Okay, Sergeant Killjoy."

---

Kalida clutched her keys in the pocket of her windbreaker. Betsy was hard to park downtown and Merton said he'd be bringing his vehicle, but as she walked down to the Factory to meet up with him, she felt her anxiety rising. The sun was setting, and she was a girl walking alone. The crime rate in Pleasantville was low, but who knew what else she might run into without her werewolf cousin in tow. Moreover, it was unseasonably cold, and she felt a chill run up her spine as a gust of wind blew down the street.

She had gone straight home after school, but Tommy had apparently called home to say he'd be having dinner with his teammates or something. I wish he'd just let me talk to him... She knew he was grieving his girlfriend, but being stonewalled by the person she was closest to at home was really getting to her. Luckily, though, Merton had called and invited her out.

She took a deep breath as she entered The Factory, hoping it would be a good distraction. Looking around, she spotted Merton at the bar, ordering a soda. She made a bee-line and tapped his shoulder. "Hey Merton!" "Hey!" He grinned at her before collecting his drink. "We got seats over there." He motioned with his head toward a table where Tommy was sat, going to town on a basket of fries.

"Oh." She rubbed her arm. "I didn't realize Tommy was with you." She fidgeted as they slowly walked over. "How's he doing?" "He's been a little down, but I think he's getting there."

Tommy looked up as they approached, his initial smile at seeing Merton fading as he noticed Kalida. "I didn't know you'd be joining us." "I.. didn't either." Kalida shrugged. "I thought it was just Merton I was meeting up with." Tommy gave Merton an unimpressed glare.

"I just think you two need to get back on the same page," Merton hedged, sitting down. "You know, we're all safe now, and there was no violence…" Tommy chomped on some fries, looking out over the dance floor with a sour expression, but didn't get up to leave. Kalida sat down carefully. "Tommy, I'm really sorry. I know she was important to you, and I… I shouldn't have just gone and done something like that without talking to you about it." "Whatever."

Kalida looked over to Merton, unsure what to make of Tommy's response. "Look, I'm sure you'll find a nice girl who doesn't hunt your kind for sport…" Merton offered. Tommy looked between his friends and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Whatever." "Tommy-" "I'm just sick of not getting to choose things, you know? I didn't get to choose this," he gestured to his face while his eyes flashes a bright yellow. "Don't get to choose between a bunch of fancy, faraway schools, I don't get to choose how to handle my relationships." Although his tone was biting, Kalida put a hand out to comfort him. "Tommy…" "Just forget it." He sighed and pushed himself up from his seat. "You guys don't get it. You can't get it."

"Tommy." Kalida pursed her lips as he walked away. She turned to Merton. "What now…?" Merton sighed and got up. "Let's go after him." He shook his head as he put on his jacket. "Big baby." "Well, I don't know if that's fair…" Kalida followed Merton outside. "He's definitely upset, though." They stopped outside and looked down the street. "Come on, he can't be too far." Merton took Kalida's hand in his and started leading the way. "He walked here." She nodded and shivered in the cold air. "You think he headed home?" "Ah, that's a good point. I don't know." Merton stopped suddenly and pulled her back a few feet, looking down an alleyway. "Is that him there?"

Kalida turned to look but was met with a sudden, impossibly cold gust of wind. When it died down, she saw Tommy standing in the alley, immobile, facing a tall woman further down the alley. The mysterious woman had long, white hair and pale skin that seemed to shimmer in the dim light. She was wearing a kimono of white, silver, and blue threads.

As Kalida began to process how strange it all was, Merton pulled her toward them. "Tommy, you okay?" he called out, but Tommy didn't reply. "Who wears a kimono in Pleasantville?" he muttered, giving the strange woman a raised eyebrow.

The woman approached Tommy, and Kalida watched with horror as she wrapped lithe arms around him, her long fingers and sharp nails digging into his back. The woman's gaze met theirs over his shoulder, and she hissed at them, her eyes glowing a pale blue. Another strong gust of icy wind blew their way, and this time thick snowflakes blurred their vision.

When the wind died down, neither the woman nor Tommy were anywhere to be seen. "Tommy!" Kalida took a step forward, looking around frantically. "Where'd they go?" Merton grabbed her hand again. Whatever had just happened, it was supernatural, and they needed to go back to the lair to figure out their next move. "Come on." "What was that?" They turned to leave the alley, but stopped dead in their tracks when they realized there was someone standing behind them, blocking their path.

Margaret, eyes wide, was staring back at them. "The Yuki Onna," she whispered.

---

Kalida buckled her seat belt and looked over to Merton. They shared a concerned glance as Merton woke up the hearse. Margaret, who was sat between them, turned to Merton with an excited expression. "Wasn't that amazing? To think, the Gothic Fantasy Guild President himself would discover a cryptid in our little town!" "I-it's not amazing, Margaret, it's a problem." Merton started driving. "In case you missed it, that thing took Tommy." Kalida said tersely, frustrated that they had a guest with them. "What did you call it again?" "The Yuki Onna." Margaret was almost shaking with giddiness, having completely ignored the part about Tommy. "It's this ancient japanese legend about a snow spirit that freezes people to death." "That's a problem," Merton reiterated.

Kalida suddenly realized Merton was driving them away from the Factory. "Where are we going?" "We're taking Margaret home, and then we're- um, going to the authorities, of course." "The police won't be able to help," Margaret said in awe, as though she was rooting for the spirit. "They'll only bring guns." "Guns can be effective," Kalida retorted half-heartedly. "We should track her down!" The younger girl put her hand on Merton's arm as he drove. "It'll be just like in Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Who needs a Watcher when you have a hearse and two goth brains!?"

"Margaret." Merton's voice was abnormally stern. "I am going to drop you off at home, and you're going to stay there. Where you are safe. And then Kalida and I are going to do the same. And none of us are going to get frozen to death by japanese folklore spirits!" Margaret deflated and sat back against the seat, pouting slightly. "I thought you of all people would be more open-minded about this sort of thing…"

"Jesse gets killed, remember?" Kalida offered somberly. "What?" Margaret scrunched her face up in annoyance. "Jesse. In the first episode of Buffy, he's Xander's best friend. And he gets killed." Merton's voice was soft. "I don't want you getting hurt."

Margaret pursed her lips and watched Merton drive. He looked tense. He's worried about my safety "...Okay."

---

Merton unlocked the door to his lair and let Kalida in, locking it behind him out of habit. Kalida made a beeline for his desk. "Okay, so, I'll look it up online and you can grab weapons? I think heat is probably a good bet." "Sure," Merton nodded, quickly opening a weapons cabinet. "You want the fire arrows?" "I guess so." Kalida kept typing and opening tabs. "What other ideas you got?"

He held up a homemade, gun-like object. "Well I have this flamethrower I jerry rigged recently, but I don't want anyone else handling it, just in case…" "That's probably a good bet." They both started when there was a knock at the door. "Tommy?" "That's not his knock…" Merton snuck closer to the door.

"Joelle?" Kalida mouthed, eyes wide. "Who is it?" he called tentatively. "Merton! It's me!"

"Margaret!?" Merton unlocked the door and opened it, a hand on his hip. "What did I tell you about staying home where it's safe?" She slipped past him into the lair, carrying a massive duffel bag. "I brought supplies!" He raised a brow and locked the door behind her before following to where she'd plopped the bag onto his coffee table. She piled various items on the table; a bottle of holy water, a wooden stake, a dull looking knife, two lighters. "Hey, haha, we're not hunting vampires here…" Merton hedged. "Oh, I know, I've just had this kit ready for anything!" She finally pulled a large, thick book out of the bag. It had a leather cover and crinkly pages. "We can use the book to figure out how to hunt it properly!"

Kalida minimized the tabs she'd had open on Merton's computer and slowly walked over to join them. Margaret opened the massive book and flipped through to the page about Yuki-Onna. "See, the snow woman is a folklore figure from Japan!" Merton put a hand on the back of his neck. "Okay, that's far enough, Margaret. We don't need to get too excited, you know, maybe it was just a trick of the light…" "Merton!" She pouted and held the book up toward him. "I'm serious, look!"

"Wow…" Kalida took the book from Margaret with interest and started reading the passages. Merton put his hands on Margaret's shoulders before she could protest. "I know we talk about fantasy creatures all the time at guild meetings, Margaret, but you can't just go around with a sack of feeble weapons and get involved with anything that fits your daydreaming." "No, you have to believe me!" The younger girl looked up at him with distress. "Where's your sense of gothic adventure?"

Kalida sat down on the couch, flipping through the book to see what else it contained. She stopped with curiosity on a page about Perendi. Isn't this the lightning genie thing that attacked The Factory the first time I went there…? She glanced over at Margaret suspiciously, and started looking for other creatures they'd fought.

"At some point you have to reign in your overactive imagination and join the legions of boring, unimaginative masses. And stay safe." Kalida closed the book. "Merton. Let's just come clean." Merton looked over to Kalida with surprise. "What?" Kalida turned her attention to Margaret. "You're right, Margaret. That thing we saw was totally the thing in this book."

Merton ran a hand over his face. "Kali-" "The truth is, Merton and I hunt monsters. And we need your help."

---

"I would just like to voice my dissent at least one more time!" Merton gripped the steering wheel, stalling starting the hearse up again.

Margaret fawned. "Merton, I'm ever so touched that you don't want me getting hurt, but I promise I'll be the best monster hunter ever if you're with me." He felt a sinking feeling in his stomach as the much younger girl batted her lashes at him. "Remember, this isn't a LARP." "I know, I know! It's amazing!" "No." He sighed and started up the vehicle. "It's very bad." "Of course." Margaret tried to compose herself and her nostrils flared with determination.

Kalida rolled down her window. They had bundled up since they were fighting a snow spirit thing, but now she was too hot. "So, based on what we looked up on the weather site, I think we should check the abandoned warehouse at the north end of town first." "Right." Merton started driving in that direction.

---

Kalida rolled up the window as they pulled up to the abandoned warehouse. It was at the end of a long, desolate road, surrounded by fields that had been left to the weeds. Are we technically even still in Pleasantville? "Look, there's a light inside!" Margaret pointed through the windshield to one of the dirty, half-boarded windows. Some kind of flickering light was visible through it. "Well, if it's not the Yuki Onna, get ready to meet some squatters," Merton muttered.

Kalida passed Margaret a thermos. "Let's go melt a ghost-thing." She hopped out of the passenger-side door before Merton could try to argue with her about it again.

Margaret followed suit, noting Kalida's determined expression as she put on the quiver and got her bow ready. They'd each taken a lighter, and Merton had even brought the LARP torches they'd used to fight the sylph as a last resort. Margaret had hot water, and Merton got out of the hearse with his homemade flamethrower.

"Just-" Merton paused, turning to the girls with him before they entered. "Just don't get hurt, okay?" Kalida could read his concern, but flashed a crooked smile. "We've all got each other's backs." "Actually," Margaret piped up, "technically, Merton, men are much more likely victims of the Yuki Onna in the stories-" He held his hand up. "Okay, let's just go." He turned and opened the door, leading his companions into the dim and frosty warehouse.

Kalida shivered at the sudden temperature drop. As they snuck around the hallway, they found the entrance to a large room. Peering around the doorway, they took in the lay of the land. In the center was a barrel with a fire, and at the back of the room, Tommy was partially frozen to the wall, unconscious. "Tommy," Kalida's voice was barely a whisper.

Merton motioned for them to enter the room, and just as they did, a frigid gust of wind stung their faces. The Yuki Onna descended from the ceiling about ten feet in front of them and let out a strange cry.

Merton rushed forward and pointed his gun at the creature. A long flame burst forth, scaring the spirit, who cowered and prepared to levy an attack. Kalida knocked an arrow and held it out to Margaret. "Light me up."

The younger girl did as she was told, the fluid-soaked fabric tied to the arrow head erupting into flames before Kalida let it loose in the direction of the Yuki Onna. She managed to dodge the arrow, but was forced further into the room. Margaret stomped her foot in annoyance that the arrow had missed. Kalida whispered to her. "Sneak around and get Tommy loose if you can." She nodded and backed into the shadows at the edge of the room.

Kalida knocked another arrow and approached Merton to use his flame. The Yuki Onna blasted them both with shards of ice. Kalida instinctively shielded her face, but a sharp blade of ice stuck into her forearm, and she cried out in pain.

Margaret made it to Tommy, and carefully started to pour the hot water over the thin areas of ice that were holding him to the wall. Soon Tommy's limp body fell to the floor with a thud.

The Yuki Onna's attention turned to the sound, and she glided effortlessly over to Margaret, picking the small girl up by the neck. Margaret made a pained sound, then went limp and unconscious, before the spirit dropped her to lay on the floor beside Tommy.

Kalida held her forearm, wincing in pain. "Go kill that thing, Merton." Merton hesitated, wanting to help Kalida with the bleeding wound, but took her direction.

He ran forward and blasted the flames at the Yuki Onna's back before she could turn her attention back to them. The snow woman cried out in agony, her features melting away until her whole body turned to steam and water before him.

Kalida held her arm and walked over to where Merton - who had now turned off his flamethrower - was standing over their knocked-out allies. "Well, they're alive, but…" "I gotta patch my arm up, but maybe we can carry them back to the hearse?"

Tommy's hand twitched. He let out a small groan as he slowly moved to sit up. Merton leaned down and helped him to his feet. "Okay. Here ya go." Tommy bristled at the cold he still felt and took in his surroundings. "What…?" "We just saved you from a creepy japanese spirit who freezes people to death," Merton explained, somewhat chipper. "Uh, thanks." Tommy held his head, trying to remember anything after leaving the Factory. He sniffed and snorted. Blood. It was only then that he noticed the red trails on the arm Kalida was holding. He felt himself wolfing out and started backing away.

"Tommy-" "I-I'll find my own way home. You deal with Margaret. Thanks!" Before they could argue with him, Tommy was gone into the shadows, a werewolf running in the night.

Eventually, Merton dropped Margaret off at her home, and sat with Kalida in the hearse outside the Dawkins house. "I need to tell you something, Merton." "Yeah, I need to tell you something, too," he agreed.

She raised her brows. "Oh? You, uh…" She felt the twist of anxiety in her stomach. "You go first." He scrunched his face and looked over at her in the dim light. "I'm kind of upset with you. For encouraging Margaret, and putting her in danger like that. I know she's weird, and annoying, but-" "W-that was what I wanted to talk to you about, actually," she started defensively. She took off her seatbelt and turned toward him. "I think that she- that is, it's possible that she- you know, summoned the Yuki Onna, in the first place." Merton took off his seatbelt and slowly turned to sit facing her. "What?"

"In that book of hers. It had information about the Yuki Onna, including how to, like, find or invite one. And not just that." She smoothed her hands over her jeans, feeling nervous about making such a bold accusation. "The thing that we fought that first time… the perendi. That was in there. And sylphs, like the one we fought on the lookout."

Merton took a few deep breaths, allowing himself to process this. "You think she's been behind the monsters we fight?" "W-well, probably not most of them, but like… some of them, maybe?" Kalida chewed her bottom lip. "I mean, she seemed pretty excited to see that one tonight, so maybe she didn't know it worked the other times? Or…" She rubbed her arm. "It could just be a coincidence. I'm not certain."

Merton moved closer, patting Kalida's shoulder reassuringly. "Thanks for telling me." He let his hand move down her arm until it hit the edge of the bandage they'd put over her cut. "I'll talk to her about it." "Okay." Kalida chewed her lip. "Merton… Margaret really likes you." He sighed. "I know."

"It… makes me uneasy." He let out a small laugh. "You don't have to worry about that. She's in the ninth grade. I'm really not interested." Her eyes met his and he was surprised to see the genuine concern in her expression. "Kali, I mean it. I love you."

She blinked in surprise. He'd never said that before. "I love you too, Merton."

He leaned forward and gave her a sweet kiss.

---

Tommy sat in the jeep in his driveway after school. Merton had filled him in on their night with Margaret at lunch, but Tommy still couldn't remember anything from while he'd been under the snow woman's spell.

He'd avoided Kalida again most of the day, but was badly missing her. He thought back to the night before, how she'd gotten hurt saving him from the ice lady. The smell of her blood had sent his wolf into panic. It wasn't like he ever thought she didn't care about him…

He sighed and ran his hands over his face. Being able to be with Joelle without wolfing out had made him more hopeful for a normal life than he had realized, and having her taken from him so suddenly had been a shock. I guess it's not really Kal's fault… Maybe his life was still really difficult, but he wanted his pack back.

When he made his way into the house, he could smell dinner cooking. Dropping his stuff at the door, he could barely make out the sound of his mom and Kalida talking in the kitchen over whatever Dean was watching on the TV. He casually made his way over to the doorway.

Kalida was chopping vegetables while Sally stirred what was on the stove. "I was thinking probably a red dress," Kali was saying. "But I guess it will depend on what I end up finding with my parents." Sally smiled to herself, focused on the pan. "I'm sure you'll look pretty as a picture."

Tommy entered the room and walked up behind his cousin, wrapping his arms around her. He put his chin on her shoulder as she dropped the knife in surprise. "Sorry," was all he said.

Sally turned around to see Kalida put her hands on Tommy's arms, returning the hug. She put her hand over her mouth, finding it too precious.

"I'm sorry, too."

---

Tags: @self-conscious-author

A/N: I really love these kids.

Chapters: 1&2, 3&4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

#big wolf on campus #big wolf #big wolf on campus fanfic #merton x oc #merton dingle #tommy dawkins

[blairsanne]

In the Cards (11)

Big Wolf on Campus fanfic. Merton x OC. [Tommy also gets some pairings.]

Chapter Summary: Things are still a bit tentative between Merton and Kalida when a new student arrives on campus and takes a special interest in the trio's witch.

Chapter 11: Desire

Saturday night, Tommy, Merton, and Kalida sat around the Dawkins family dining table eating nachos.

"So what's the plan for tonight?" Kalida scooped up a hefty amount of guacamole. Merton took another chip, stretching the melted cheese until it snapped. "I assumed we'd visit Trevor and then spend the night in the lair." "I was thinking maybe the Factory?" Tommy suggested.

Merton raised a brow. "You're not partied out after last night?" "Party champ." Tommy scoffed, flexing his arms. "Besides, I couldn't really relax with that many people in the house."

"We could do both." Kalida offered. Tommy grinned. "A night of dancing, then sleepover at Merton's?" Merton wiggled his eyebrows playfully. "Dingle-Dawkins double feature. I like it."

---

Tommy flopped down at the table he'd left Merton and Kalida at. The Factory was buzzing with teenagers and college students, and the DJ had the crowd hyped.

"Where's Kali?" Merton gestured toward the bar. "She went to get drinks." He bobbed along to the beat. Tommy leaned forward. "So, what's the scoop?" Merton raised a brow. "You two are all good now? Last night she told you to hang yourself, today you're all chummy."

"Oh! Yeah…" Merton rubbed the back of his neck, not sure how much to say. "She came by after the party and we talked for a while." Technically that's true.

"So are you two…" he gestured. "It's still a little undefined, but I think… sorta?"

Tommy smiled. "Cool, man. I'm happy for you." He grinned bashfully. "Thanks. I hope it's not, you know, awkward." "Well I'd rather not see you two necking, but if my two best friends are going to date people, it might as well be each other."

Merton put a hand over his chest, the other raised at his side. "No overt PDA's. Scout's honour." Tommy snorted. "You're not a boy scout." "Goth's honour."

Meanwhile Kalida was paying for two sodas over at the bar.

"Here with a friend?" A tall young man with golden brown skin leaned casually against the bar. His perfect coif and beard stubble were jet black. His deep voice had caught her off guard and she blinked at him a moment before replying. "Uh, yeah, actually." "Think she'll miss you?" He smirked and gave her an obvious lookover with his piercing brown eyes. "They," she corrected him, grabbing the two drinks that were placed down in front of her. "Both guys. And yeah. Bye." She hurried away from him, relieved to see that Tommy was back at the table already.

"Hey, where's mine?" Tommy teased. "We can share, or you can get your own." "Do you know that guy?" Merton nodded subtly toward the bar. She followed his gaze and locked eyes with the man she'd just walked away from. "Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome? No."

The mystery guy smirked and waved. Kalida turned back around, a shiver running up her spine. "There's something off about him."

Merton waved at the guy, pulling a face that suggested his advances were unwelcome.

"He seems friendly enough," Tommy teased, knowing it was bothering Merton to have another guy making eyes at Kalida. "That's not what I meant. When he talked to me before, it was like my brain went blank for a second."

"Love at first sight," Tommy laughed. "That's not funny." She sipped at her soda. "Yeah Tommy." Merton frowned at his friend, feeling insecure. Tommy rolled his eyes. "I'm sure he just saw a girl by herself and thought he'd try a line." Kalida sighed, putting down her drink. "Has that ever worked for you?" Tommy smirked. "All the time."

Merton rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I'm sure you being captain of the football team, and most eligible bachelor on campus has nothing to do with that." Tommy laughed. "What can I say, I'm a charmer."

"And yet no steady girl." Kali poked Tommy's side. "What a player." "Hey," Tommy squirmed, laughing. "It's a little hard to keep steady with a girl when you get hairy every time you get worked up." Kali's eyes went wide. "I didn't even think of that!" Tommy tried to play it off, shrugging casually. "Wolf life."

Kalida chewed on her straw, recalling what Merton had said about that Stacey girl. "We'll have to find you a wolf wife." Merton suppressed a laugh, trying not to spit out his drink.

---

Early Monday morning, Tommy, Kalida, and Merton piled out of the hearse in the school parking lot.

Kalida stifled a laugh. "And that's how I got grounded in sixth grade," Tommy concluded. "What did that entail, exactly? No football for a week?" Merton raised a brow, shaking his head. "I don't even remember. But I was crushed."

Kalida thought back. "I don't think I've ever been grounded." Tommy rolled his eyes. "No surprise there. Aunt Macy doesn't seem like the grounding type."

Kalida mocked offense. "You don't think it's just 'cause I'm such a keener?" He furrowed his brow. "Keener?" Merton interjected. "Canadian colloquialism. A keener is a brown-noser. A suck up. A goodie two-shoes, if you will. See also nerd, or geek." Kalida gestured. "See also you." Tommy laughed.

---

When they got to their lockers, Kalida started swapping out her textbooks. She was startled by a sudden question from a low voice. "Are these two your bodyguards?"

She turned to face the mystery person, recognising him immediately as the tall guy who had approached her at The Factory on Saturday night. She blinked, dazed.

He smirked, raising a brow as he looked her over. "I'm Mark, by the way." Kalida shook her head. "What are you, stalking me?" Tommy cleared his throat and stared down the interloper. Merton followed suit, poking his head out from behind Tommy to raise an eyebrow at him.

Mark laughed, unfazed. "Not at all. I was actually looking for the office. It's my first day here." Tommy shut his locker. "I'll show you where it is." He stepped between Mark and Kalida, extending a hand. "Tommy Dawkins. Captain of the Fighting Badgers." "Mark Jackson." He shook Tommy's hand. "Great to meet you."

Tommy gestured and led Mark away, pulling his backpack up onto his shoulder. "So you're new in town? Where'd you move from?" Kalida and Merton watched as they walked off. "Lumberton." "Oh, so not too far then." They rounded the corner, out of earshot.

Kalida closed her locker and turned to Merton with a forced smile. "Thanks for the ride today." He was lost in thought, staring down the hall with a perplexed look. "Hm?" He shook his head and grinned. "Of course. Saves you the trouble of moving Betsy after school." "Yeah." She licked her lips, rocking onto the balls of her feet. "I'm really looking forward to our plans tonight."

He noted her proximity and felt a renewed nervousness around her. "It's just dinner and a movie." She shrugged, looking off. "Yeah, but with my peeps." He made a small chirping sound, miming chicken movements. She snorted and held a hand to her mouth, shoulders shaking as she suppressed a laugh. He grinned and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"You know what I mean." His gaze held hers. "Yeah. I know what you mean." "You guys are…" She trailed off, then looked down a shrugged. "My guys."

He mocked surprise. "You mean we're not just your bodyguards?" She smacked his chest with the back of her hand. "More like I'm yours. Who exorcised a demon?" He shrugged. "Touché."

---

Merton sat at his usual table in the cafeteria waiting for Tommy, lost in thought about Kalida. They hadn't officially defined their status as a couple - or not - and he wanted a plan to get them there without turning her off. I have a knack for saying the wrong thing to her. ...And every other girl.

He pushed his mashed potatoes around, staring past them, when suddenly he was flanked by two massive classmates. "You ignoring us, Dingle?" Travis Eckert slammed his fist down on the table beside Merton's tray.

Merton's shoulders hunched up. "N-no, of course not." He turned to Tim with a wincing smile. "I must not have heard you is all." "So do you think it's him?" Tim prodded. "Do I think what is whom?" Merton shook his head in confusion.

"The wolf man!" Travis hissed. "Do you think that Mark guy is the wolf man?" "Mark?" Merton followed Travis's gaze to the guy Kalida had described as Mr. Tall Dark and Handsome. "I doubt it. He's new in town, and the Wolf Man isn't, right?" Tim and Travis both let out a sound of epiphany. "See, I knew we should ask Dingle, Timothy." He tapped Merton's forehead. "Egghead."

Tommy sat down across from them at the table. "What's going on, guys?" He glanced between them, his expression silently asking Merton if everything was alright. Merton smirked. "They were just saying how they thought Mark might be the Pleasantville Werewolf."

Tommy raised his brows. "Interesting theory." "Nah, he's too new to town." Tim waved his hand dismissively. The brothers got up. "We're gonna crack the case, though, Dawkins. Don't worry." Travis added.

"Thanks guys," Tommy nodded, feigning sincerity. "It's nice to know we've got T'n'T protecting our town." "T'n'T rule!" The brothers bumped chests, then walked off together. Merton rolled his eyes and set to work actually eating his meal.

"Can you believe that guy's a senior?" Tommy asked, gesturing vaguely at Mark, who was sitting with a group of popular students on the other end of the room. "He totally looks older."

"Well, I believe that nobody would subject themselves to going to school here if they didn't have to." "It could just be a cover." "For what? Being a supermodel?" Merton snickered.

Tommy leaned forward, speaking in a hushed tone. "He could be a monster. Kalida said he wigged her out." "Look, Tommy, I don't like him either. But not everyone is a demon or a vampire," Merton gestured with a flourish, "et cetera. He's just annoyingly handsome."

"I dunno, man." Tommy shoved a forkful of chicken into his mouth, still talking. "There's something about him." "Yeah, whatever you say, Casanova. I'm sure it has nothing to do with all the girls suddenly paying attention to someone else." Tommy made a face at him. "I'm being serious. He's hinky. Everyone's obsessed with him, and he transferred here all of a sudden in the middle of term. That's suspicious."

Merton looked over at Mark, considering. "Maybe." Tommy took a big bite of his chicken thigh. "I was right about Trevor. I'm right about this." He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, flawless logic, there, Tom. You were right once, ergo infallible."

"I'm just saying, I'm a little more in tune with this kind of stuff than you are." Merton shook his head and muttered, "Says the guy who didn't believe he was turning into a werewolf."

---

After school, the three amigos met at their lockers.

Mark was surrounded by a group of girls down the hall, laughing and flirting with several of them at once. Tommy rolled his eyes at the scene, which had caught all of their attention. "I don't get what's so great about him." Kalida smirked. "He's insanely attractive."

Merton looked at Kalida in shock, then pouted. "I'm right here." She rolled her eyes and tapped him on the nose. "Relax, I didn't say he was more attractive than you." He grinned, straightening up a bit. "Yeah?" "I mean, he is, I guess. Objectively." She looked back over at Mark. "He's like a movie star."

Merton sulked, crossing his arms. "He's not that great." Tommy draped his arm over Merton's shoulders and mirrored his expression. "Yeah, let's see him pull off a zone blitz against Pleasantville Catholic."

Kalida snorted and looked back at the two boys, who were chummily giving Mark twin death glares.

"Why do you even care about him?" She shut her locker and slung her bag over her shoulder with a grin. "Come on, are we going out tonight or what? I caught up on my studying and everything."

"My vote is the new action movie showing at the Muellenburg Multiplex." Tommy enthused. Merton's eyes lit up. "Oh, they have that french werewolf film right now too." Kalida held her arms up in an X-shape. "No scary movies."

"Not all werewolf movies are scary." Tommy retorted. "Remember Teen Wolf?" She rolled her eyes and looked back over at the groupies, then put on a wistful voice. "Maybe Mark will take me to a good movie."

Tommy scoffed and pulled her under his other arm, so that he was leading both her and Merton away from the crowd. "Nope, you're stuck with us." Kalida laughed, wrapping an arm around her cousin's torso. "What a hardship."

---

Kalida grinned as they went to grab seats in the half-empty theatre. They'd taken a short tour of the Muellenburg Mall and eaten light meals in the food court before heading to the multiplex. She'd even managed to talk the boys into watching a comedy starring a favourite actor of hers. She settled into her seat and looked to her right.

"Okay, if you're sitting in the middle you have to hold the popcorn." Merton laughed, taking the enormous bucket of popcorn from her. "It would be my pleasure to be the keeper of the corn." Tommy took a handful. "The theatre stuff always tastes so much better than homemade." "Mmm. Yeah, all those chemicals." Kalida grabbed a few and popped them in her mouth. "The not quite butter flavour." Merton opened his mouth and Tommy tossed a few in with moderate accuracy. "Delicious."

As the lights dimmed and the trailers started up, Kalida slumped into her seat and leaned her head on Merton's shoulder. Merton glanced at Tommy, who was now absorbed by the screen. Attempting to be subtle, he lifted his left arm and loosely wrapped it around Kalida. Kalida leaned against him, munching popcorn.

Tommy pretended not to notice, relaxing into his seat.

---

The next day at lunch, Kalida stepped out into the bright parking lot of the school. It had become her habit to eat lunch in her camper, using the stove to make tea, and the table to study. She had tried to eat lunch with Tommy and Merton a few times, but couldn't concentrate on her homework in the cafeteria.

Making her way across the pavement, she had the distinct impression she was being watched. She shivered, then looked behind her. There were a few students milling around, but nobody shady. When she turned back around, she walked straight into someone.

She squeaked in surprise, putting her hands up. "I'm so sorry!" Warm hands took hers. She looked up, gaze caught on chocolate eyes that bore down on her. Mark's mouth twisted into an easy smile. "Not at all."

She took a breath and gathered her wits. Frowning at his intimacy, she yanked her hands out of his and moved to push past him. "Oh, don't be like that," he purred, following after her with relaxed steps, putting his hands in his pockets. "Am I so offensive to you?"

She stopped with her hand on Betsy's door, and turned to face him. She narrowed her eyes. "I kind of have a boyfriend, so you can stop whatever this stalking thing is."

He laughed. "I happened to encounter you in the parking lot. It's a bit conceited to assume I'm stalking you."

She stared at him a long moment. The more she looked at him, the less certain she felt about what was happening. She blinked in confusion.

"Perhaps if you allowed me to join you for lunch-" She sucked in a sharp breath. "No. Thank you." She turned and opened the door, stepping inside. Mark pushed his way in behind her and shut the door. "What the hell do you think you're doing? Get out!"

He took a long step toward her, trapping her between him and the stove. His hands smoothed over her shoulders and gripped her upper arms. His eyes glowed a fiery red. "Now that I've gotten you alone, don't you think we could have some fun?"

Kalida's brain felt foggy. She went limp in his grip, face relaxing. Her mouth parted gently as she stared, unblinking, up at him. He closed his eyes and leaned in to kiss her.

She closed her eyes in return, then felt her faculties come back to her. She stomped down on his foot and shoved against his chest with all her strength.

He fell back, caught off guard, and landed against the counter. From his new vantage point, he spotted her collection of crystals and other tools under the table. "A witch," he hissed. "So that's why you're giving me trouble."

Kalida looked around the space frantically. I should really keep some weapons in here.

She tried to get through the curtain into the driver's seat, but Mark grabbed her forcefully and pulled her to the other end of the camper. He pushed her down onto the bed and hovered over her, easily pinning her in place beneath him. He's stronger than me.

His glowing eyes and dark grin made her shiver. He's not human. I need help. She could feel fear paralyzing her, pulse racing. "What are you?" "Your new master."

He placed a hand over her mouth. Searing heat shot through her body, making her convulse. Everything hurt until the world fell away from her.

---

Nearly two hours after school had let out, Tommy slung his bag of football gear over his shoulder. Coach had worked them hard, and he was the final straggler out of the showers. He pushed open the back doors and walked along the edge of the field toward the parking lot. He spotted movement near the bleachers, and as he approached, made out the school's distinct white and red cheerleading uniform in the distance.

"I thought their practice was over a while ago…?"

Alicia Conaway, a sophomore, was standing at the edge of the stands. Tommy didn't know her very well, but it seemed strange for her to still be over there.

As he got closer, he peered over the chain link fence in her direction. She was holding her hands behind her back, swaying side to side with her chest sticking out. Mark Jackson stepped out from under the bleachers and put his hands on her shoulders.

Tommy stopped, the hairs on the back of his neck standing on end. Mark leaned in and kissed Alicia. Her hands gripped at his shirt, and she leaned against him as her knees went weak. A short moment later, Mark pulled away, eyes glowing carnelian. Alicia slumped and fell limply against him. "I knew he was hinky!"

Tommy dropped his bag and wolfed out. He hopped the fence and ran straight at them, growling. Mark let Alicia fall, unconscious, to the ground, and raised his arms defensively.

"What did you do to her!?" Tommy demanded, glancing down at the younger girl. He bared his fangs at Mark, fists raised. "Relax, friend." Mark's voice was soothing, and too calm for the body language between them. "I just fed on her a little. She'll be fine."

"Define fed on her." "I just took a little energy from her. An incubus does what he has to." "Not anymore, you don't." "You know, with the syndicate out of business, I really thought those rumours about the Pleasantville Werewolf were just urban legend." Tommy snarled. "Well, sorry to disappoint you, but I'm real. And I don't take kindly to outsiders feeding on my fellow students."

Mark took a slow step back, his eyes fading back to their usual chestnut depths. "Clearly I've stepped into your territory. Why don't we call a truce, and I'll move on to the next town."

Tommy rolled his shoulders and shook his head. "No way. I'm not letting you do that to anyone else. Pleasantville or elsewhere." He lunged at Mark, claws digging into his shoulders.

The two struggled, wrestling with each other for several long minutes until Mark reached up, wrapping his hands around Tommy's neck. Tommy felt a searing heat emanate from Mark's solid grip. He tried in vain to pry the hands away, but was slowly paralyzed. His legs gave out beneath him and his vision blurred as the world span around him.

---

When he woke up, he was alone on the football field, no longer wolfed out. The sun was just setting behind the trees on the edge of town. He looked around for any trace of Alicia or Mark to no avail. He stashed his bag in the jeep and headed toward Merton's to form a plan.

---

Merton glanced toward his exterior door. The gentle, non-rhythmic knocking repeated.

"Not Tommy…" he murmured, brow furrowing. Given his history, it could have been any of a variety of previous foes, mundane and supernatural. He crept over to the door and peered through the blinds.

He gripped at his chest when he took in the sight of Kalida Dawkins with a lollipop in her mouth. "Oh merciful lord," he said a prayer to the ceiling and unlocked the door, leaning in the doorway with a grin. "Hey Kalida."

"Merton," she sighed his name and held the candy out of her mouth. She bit her lower lip and looked him over. Pressing a hand against his chest, she pushed him backward as she crossed the threshold. "I missed you."

"I-I just saw you a few hours ago." He raised a finger in confusion as she locked the door behind her and breezed past him. "Is your family home?" "Yeah, of course. It's a Tuesday night."

She locked the door that led upstairs. "No matter." She made a show of putting the sucker between her lips, then unbuttoned her jacket. Beneath it she wore a lacy black crop top and a red mini skirt.

Merton swallowed, looking her over multiple times until she was in front of him. She looked great, but there was an unfamiliar edge to her behaviour.

He made incomprehensible sounds as he backed slowly away from her. "Wh-what brings you here?" She pulled the candy from her mouth again with a pout, her other hand reaching up to run her fingers through his hair. "I wanted to see you." "That's great." He shuddered as his back hit the wall. "I like to see you, don't get me wrong-"

She pushed the lollipop into his mouth and traced her lips over neck. "I can't stop thinking about you." She nibbled at his earlobe.

Merton whimpered, closing his eyes as her hands moved down his chest. His hands gripped her hips as she licked his neck. When she started tugging on his belt, he pulled the candy from his mouth and gently pushed her away.

"Not that I don't appreciate your attention, but are you on the sauce or something? You're being… intense." She stared at him with over-dilated pupils and shook her head. She pulled lightly on his belt loops, leaning close again. "How should I be?" Her breath was cherry-scented warmth that tickled his lips. "Um, normal?" He put a hand to her forehead and frowned. "Geez, you're burning up."

There was a sudden forceful knock on the exterior door. Merton started, clutching his chest. "That one's Tommy. You just…" He gestured at her awkwardly, handing her back the lollipop. "Wait here."

He unlocked the door and let Tommy in, locking the door behind him. "I feel so popular. What brings you here?" "I just- Why is Kali here?"

"Well she-uh-that is-" He threw his hands up, then crossed his arms, hands in his armpits. "I'm going to be honest, I have no idea. I think she's sick."

Kalida licked the sucker suggestively.

Tommy cleared his throat and gave Merton a concerned look, tilting his head. "Sick?" "Drunk maybe?" Merton whispered. "She just came over suddenly and tried to…" He rubbed the back of his neck, looking away, unable to finish the sentence.

"She's just standing there staring at you." He waved at Kalida, but there was no reaction. "Yeah. Her eyes are kinda buggy." He grimaced. "Her forehead was hot too. Wait, why are you here?"

Tommy smacked his head. "I just fought Mark. He's a demon - an ink-us or something." "Incubus?" Tommy pointed at him. "That's the word. I told you he was hinky."

Merton's eyes widened. "An incubus!" He pointed at Kalida, sudden deep concern washing over him. "He probably tried to turn her." "WHAT?" Tommy's wolf features presented at his protective anger, eyes glowing a bright yellow. "I need to look up how it works." Merton pushed past him and sat down at his desk.

Kalida walked up behind him, running her hands down his chest. Leaning over, she started kissing his neck. Merton made a noise somewhere between a laugh and a whine, typing fervently.

Tommy stood in front of the desk, arms crossed. "Merton, stop that." "Technically I'm not doing anything," he gave a wincing grin as she bit at his ear again. "Besides, it's kind of nice-" "MERTON!"

He cleared his throat and furrowed his brow. "Okay, okay." He gently took Kali's hands in his and removed her from him. "Just… sit." He patted his desktop. She hopped up and sat facing him, craning her neck as she looked him over.

"There! Okay, it says an incubus can turn others by infecting them with Lilin energy. If the host successfully- erm- woos their chosen victim, the host becomes a demon who follows the direction of the incubus." "So she's going to turn into an incubus?" "Succubus. And no." He pointed at the screen. "We can turn her back to normal. We just have to kill the incubus or get him to remove the Lilin energy from her before she seduces someone." "Great, well, the incubus got away from me earlier, so how do we kill it?"

"We can hurt it with holy water, but actually killing it involves a whole exorcising ritual to banish it back to hell. The internet's a little fuzzy on how well that actually works." He glanced at Kalida. "And I'm guessing our resident witch won't be much help." Tommy growled. "Fine. Whatever, let's just go find him so he can turn her back to normal."

Merton stood in front of Kalida and spoke in a patronizing tone. "Kali, you need to come with us, okay? We're going to go find your master." Her eyes flashed red as she gripped his shirt. "I can take you." Merton blinked and looked over at Tommy. "O-oh yeah?"

Kalida let go of him, then slinked off the desk and pointed. "Markus is that way." Merton looked over to Tommy with raised eyebrows and mouthed, Markus. He grabbed two water guns full of holy water and threw them in a black tote bag.

Tommy took Kalida's arm and started pulling her outside. "You drive," he growled to Merton, Kalida's nails digging into his arm. "I don't, uh… I don't think she wants you to pull her," Merton hedged, moving to separate the two. Kalida hid behind Merton, pressing against him tightly as she glared at Tommy.

Merton's voice was soft and caring. "Kali, just lead us to Markus, okay?" He took both of her hands in his and gently led her out to the hearse.

---

Once in the car, Kalida snuggled up to Merton and whispered directions in his ear. Her hands moved over his chest, and over his thigh. Merton tried to remain composed and undistracted as he drove. Tommy sat on the other end of the seat, trying not to break anything.

They pulled up to a small house at the front of a large empty property on the edge of town. Tommy got out first, pumping his holy water gun in preparation.

Kalida stopped Merton's hand as it reached for the door handle. "Wait." She crawled onto his lap and stretched her arms out on either side of his head. "Stay here." She kissed him intently, pressing down on his lap.

He kissed back, then whined against her mouth and pushed her back onto the seat beside him. "Any other time, Kali." She pouted, tugging at his shirt. "Merton…" He gave her a lopsided grin and pinched her cheeks, putting on a goofy voice. "I just like you too darn much to let you become a demon."

He bailed out of the car and gave Tommy an overly-innocent smile. "Heh."

Kalida stepped out of the hearse and hugged Merton from behind, her arms wrapped loosely around his waist. She pressed her forehead into his back. "Come back to the car."

Merton stifled a yelp as her hand travelled lower. He wiggled free and moved to put Tommy between them. "You're making this surprisingly hard, Kali." She smirked. "Hard is good." He shook a finger at her. "Not what I meant."

Tommy shivered, extremely uncomfortable. "Markus! Get your inkus butt out here!" "Incubus," Merton corrected. "Incubus butt out here!"

The front door of the small house opened to reveal Mark. He stood, backlit, and faced the teenagers at the end of his driveway. "The werewolf again. You know, you're starting to get on my nerves." Tommy growled. "I'm about to do more than that."

Mark waved his hand dismissively, sounding bored. "I'm already moving out of town tonight, there's no need for us to get violent." "You're turning my cousin into a freakin' demon!"

Mark narrowed his eyes and looked past Tommy, finally spotting Kalida. A dark smile twisted across his face. "Ahh. Is that the issue?" He snapped his fingers.

Kalida's face fell blank, and she stepped past Tommy and Merton toward Mark. Merton moved to block her path. "W-wait." Her gaze didn't meet his as she went around him. "Kali-"

"What are you doing to her?" Tommy demanded. He moved to follow, but Mark put a hand up as Kalida came to a stop at his side. "I'm just calling my servant." He wrapped a hand loosely around her neck. "I would have thought she'd have caught her target by now." Tommy raised a brow. "Guess you didn't count on us looking out for her."

Merton raised his water gun. "Change her back." Mark's gaze set on Merton. He let out a small laugh. "It figures she'd choose a virgin. Just my luck." Merton swallowed uncomfortably, but pumped the gun, spraying Mark's free hand. Mark hissed, his eyes glowing a bright red again. "There's more where that came from! Let her go."

Mark moved Kalida in front of him. She didn't flinch as his nails morphed into sharp claws, depressing the skin where they rested on her throat. "Be careful who you threaten, boy." Tommy and Merton shared a glance.

"Now, Tommy," Mark continued. "I know what you are. You know what I am. I propose you let me leave this little town behind me without any more interruptions. In return, I won't send every werewolf hunter in the country after you." "And turn Kali back," Merton interjected. "Right." He rolled his eyes. "And I'll turn your cousin back to normal. Deal?"

Tommy growled, his grip tightening on the gun. "It's a deal," Merton answered for him. "Merton, he's just going to go to some other town and do the same thing," Tommy hissed. Merton looked between Kalida and Tommy. "We don't really have any bargaining chips here."

He sighed. "Fine. Deal." He lowered his water gun. "Agreed." Mark spun Kalida around and pulled her against him, his hand over her chest. A red glow burned from her skin and into his palm.

She let out a strangled cry of pain, eyes closing as her body went rigid. Once he'd pulled all the Lilin energy from her, she went limp in his arms, unconscious.

Merton dropped the gun and approached. Mark pushed the passed out teen toward him. "Now get off my property." He went back into the house and shut the door.

Tommy took Kali from Merton, picking her up easily. "She's out cold." "Yeah, it looked like it hurt." Merton frowned. "Let's get out of here." Tommy carried his cousin back to the hearse.

---

Kalida woke slowly. She was in a weird position. Blinking awake, she sat up slightly. Wherever she was, it was darker than she'd expected.

"Hey, you're awake. She squinted at Tommy. She was sitting in the front of Merton's hearse, and they were driving. "What's going on?" "That Mark guy's a demon."

She sat up, jolting awake. "Yeah! He attacked me!" "It's okay," Merton looked over at her with a soft smile. "You'll be fine now."

She blushed as she remembered everything she'd done under his control. "O-okay." She thought a moment. Last thing she remembered, Mark was pulling the energy from her chest. "Wait, did you guys fight him…?"

"No, we made a deal with him to let him go," Tommy stuck his chin out, still upset. "Don't worry about it," Merton smirked. "I'll just post about it on the monster hunting forum and someone will track him down." "Wait, there's a forum for that?" "Sure. They're really helpful."

---

"Morning!" Merton grinned brightly at Kalida as he opened his locker.

She just couldn't look him in the eye. "G-good morning." She fidgeted with her book bag, trying not to mentally replay the events of the previous night.

"How are you feeling?" She flushed slightly at the genuine concern in his voice. "Back to normal. Thanks." "That's good. Don't want you turning into a demon on me." He smirked.

"Yeah… sorry about last night. Just forget I did any of that." He sighed wistfully. "No, I think I'll cherish the memory for a long time." "Merton!" She smacked his chest, her cheeks red and hot.

"Sorry," he laughed. He put a hand on her shoulder reassuringly. "Don't worry, I know it was just because of the Lilin energy." "Y-yeah." She glanced away and shut her locker. "Mostly." He couldn't help but feel bolstered by her behaviour. "Can't say I didn't enjoy it though." "Come on…"

He moved closer, sandwiching her between him and the lockers. "How would you feel if I just showed up in your room," he caressed her face, then wrapped his hand around her neck, thumbing her chin. "Said that I just had to see you, that I couldn't stop thinking about you." "I..." She stared up at him, cheeks burning, unable to reply.

Someone cleared their throat loudly behind them.

Merton turned to see Tommy staring him down, looking irritated. "Oh, hey Tommy." Kalida squirmed away, hurrying down the hall. "Better get to class!"

Merton reached a hand out in her direction, but she turned the corner before he could say anything. He smacked Tommy's chest. "Come on, man! Way to ruin the mood. I thought you were cool with me and Kalida."

Tommy grabbed Merton by the face and moved him out of the way. "I don't care what you do with Kali, just don't block my locker."

Merton straightened out at nodded. "Noted."

---

Tags: @self-conscious-author

(idk if anyone else would like to be tagged on this fic, so lemme know if you would!)

---

Chapter 12 here.

Chapters: 1&2, 3&4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

#big wolf on campus #big wolf on campus fanfic #bwoc fanfic #bwoc #merton x oc #merton j dingle #merton dingle #tommy dawkins

[blairsanne]

In the Cards (15)

Big Wolf on Campus fanfic. Merton x OC. [Tommy also gets some pairings.]

Chapter Summary: The trio begin their plans for Prom while Tommy questions if Joelle will even want to join him. Merton and Kalida get threatened by a rival hunter, and Tommy is offended when they don't want him getting involved. Tommy protects Trevor from his stalker, and everyone's future is still up in the air.

CW: Just the usual level of violence from the show.

Chapter 15: Hunting

"Have you ever listened to Garden of Delight?" Merton pushed a home-burned CD into the stereo in the front of the hearse.

He had parked up at the lookout with Kalida. Pleasantville twinkled below them in the dark night. Kalida shook her head as the music came out through the speakers. "Can't say I have." "They're total veterans. You Have Been Here Before is my favourite by them."

She nodded slowly. "His voice is sort of…" She narrowed her eyes. "There's something kind of off about it?" "Probably the accent you're hearing. A lot of goth music is from Europe." "Oh. I guess that makes sense. Music's nice, though." They sat in silence a moment while she listened.

Merton rubbed his hands over his pants. "Uh, if you don't like it, we can turn it off-" "Nah, it's fine." She flashed him an easy smile. His breath caught a moment, struck once again by the sight of her and the way it made his insides squirm. "Oh good."

He slid over on the bench seat toward her and tentatively wrapped his arm around her shoulders. She leaned into him immediately, pulling her legs up onto the seat as she pressed against him and closed her eyes.

Merton stared into the night. If anyone had told him a year earlier that he'd be listening to goth music in his hearse with his girlfriend, he probably would have laughed them off. Doubly so if they told him his girlfriend was a Dawkins.

Then again, I didn't think I'd be fighting monsters with a werewolf, either. Or that my best friend would be the captain of the football team. ...Or that I'd have a friend. For a moment, he thought, my life is pretty great.

He kissed the top of Kalida's head. She moved to look up at him. She was surprised by his calm expression. They held each other's gaze a long moment before Kalida leaned in for a soft, lingering kiss. Merton smirked. "What was that for?"

She moved again, pressing her right knee onto the driver's side so that she was straddling his lap. She traced her fingertips over the sides of his face, then hooked her hands behind his head, forearms resting on his shoulders. Merton swallowed hard. He rested his hands on her legs, just under the hem of her skirt. They stared at each other in the din.

"I really like you," Kalida said at last. She kissed him forehead sweetly. "Are you sure? Because it seems statistically unlikely that I'd hold your interest this long." She snickered under her breath and pressed her lips against his.

He kissed back, and let out a small noise as she pressed her pelvis down against his. His fingers travelled further up her skirt and gripped at her thighs. She pressed her face against his, breath tickling his ear. "Yeah, Merton," she whispered. "I'm sure." He sucked in a slow, deep breath.

Kalida folded her arms and hugged him tightly, her face hidden behind his. She didn't know what the future would hold - with neither of them having announced their plans post-graduation - but he was something she was afraid to lose. He slid his hands out from under her skirt and held her close, resting his head on her shoulder. "I like you too, Kal."

---

The trio stood on one end of a hallway in Pleasantville High.

Kalida took a roll of paper from Tommy and unfurled one end of it. "I don't understand why you don't just ask her." Merton shook his head. "I said the same thing." He took a swig of bottled water, not actually contributing to the efforts.

Tommy groaned. "It's just that Joelle already graduated from high school - what if she thinks it's kid stuff to go to something like prom?" "It's literally the thing that high school seniors do, though. Which we are." Kalida tried to hold the banner paper against the wall above the bank of lockers, but she couldn't reach. "But Joelle isn't a senior. And I feel like… I don't know, like she'll think it's lame and corny that I want to go at all." "She does call you cornbread," Merton agreed. "Oh my god, does your girlfriend even like you?" Kalida laughed. "Look, I'm sorry I haven't picked out matching outfits and arranged for a limousine and-"

"Wait, Merton, are you arranging for a limo?" Kalida raised a brow. Merton smacked Tommy's chest. "Well I hadn't, but, uh…" He postured, making eyes at her. "I could, if you wanted." Kalida snickered. "I kind of like the idea of arriving in a hearse. Sets the tone of finality for the event." Merton grinned, and glanced at Tommy.

He shook his head with a grin. At least his best friends seemed to be on the same page about prom, even if he was too scared to ask his pseudo-girlfriend along. Kalida sighed in frustration as she tried again to tack the banner above the lockers. "I can't reach this stupid wall." "Here, I'll put you on my shoulders." Kalida squeaked as Tommy propelled her upward, gripping at his forehead to stop herself from falling from his broad shoulders. "Whoa, a little warning?"

He passed her the banner, then took her ankles in his hands to keep her steady. "You should be able to reach now." She leaned over his hair to tack the corner into the plaster. "Yeah, not sure how I feel about having my cousin between my legs, though." Merton spat out his water, sputtering a wheezing comment. "Phrasing."

Tommy chuckled and glanced over at Merton, watching as his friend wiped dribbles of liquid from his chin. "Well, I would have picked you up, Merton, but I wouldn't want to give the school paper any more fuel." Kalida rolled her eyes. "With our luck, they'll do an incest exposé."

Tommy carried her down the hallway on his shoulders as she unfurled the banner. Painted onto it in bright red letters was PROM NIGHT IS COMING. Brett had talked Kalida into volunteering herself, Tommy, and Merton to help put up some of the posters, and this was their last task.

"I sure hope your other boyfriend appreciates all our hard work," Merton snarked, still holding a roll of tape and a box of push pins. "Is that a hint of jealousy I hear, Dingle?" Merton closed his eyes indignantly. "I would never admit to such a thing."

---

Tommy finished a box of chicken nuggets in the front seat of Merton's hearse. They were parked on the far end of the movie store lot, watching for Trevor to get off work. Merton sucked on the straw in his nearly empty cup, making loud noises as it scraped the bottom. He stopped and smiled sheepishly as both Kalida and Tommy turned to glare at him.

"Do you really think something's stalking Trevor?" Kalida asked quietly. "I mean, we've been out here an hour already and I haven't noticed anything." Tommy shrugged. "I dunno. His girlfriend said he was worried about it, though." Merton added his empty cup to the takeout bag that had been filled with trash. "As thrilling as this is, I'm not sure how many nights I'm willing to watch our local friendly vampire walk to his car uneventfully."

"Hey, it's only the third time." Kalida yawned. "Yeah, but sleep deprivation affects mental clarity. We have finals coming up." "Nerd," Tommy sighed, shaking his head. "Not ashamed to admit it," Kalida agreed. "Tommy just likes the stake outs because he can see his girlfriend when he's done." Tommy scoffed. "You're just jealous." Merton gawked. "I have a girlfriend. She's right here." He pulled Kalida into a tight hug, forcing her to lean into him. "Here I am," she agreed dryly.

"There's Trevor." Tommy pointed to the young man in a lime green t-shirt that was leaving the movie store. They watched keenly as Trevor nervously approached his vehicle. He pulled out of the stall and waved at them on his way out of the lot. "Uneventful as ever," Merton remarked. "I think he was just imagining whatever it was," Kalida nodded. Tommy shook his head. "Nah, I think if something spooked him, he was probably right. People like us can sense things." "People like you?" Merton raised a brow. "Monsters, I guess." Tommy shrugged. "Remember, you didn't even think he was a vampire." Merton rolled his eyes. "Oh, this again."

"Tommy has a point, though. He has heightened senses. If something was wigging him out, it probably wasn't nothing..." Merton poked Kalida. "I'm confused, do you want to do this, or not?" "Well, I just- I don't want something bad to happen, that's all." "Pfft." Merton gestured dismissively. "What's gonna happen?"

Kalida's eyes bugged. "Don't SAY that!" Tommy reached over and smacked Merton on the back of the head. "Ow- hey!" Merton cowered. "What did I do?" "Now that you said that, something's definitely gonna happen!" Kalida whined. "That's just superstitious," Merton scoffed. "Says the guy who carries a lucky rabbit foot in his backpack."

Merton pouted. "It really is lucky, though…" Tommy sighed. "Whatever, can you just drop me at the Bucket? Joelle's gonna be off soon."

---

Tommy pulled his shirt on, feeling strangely nervous as he waited for Joelle to finish getting redressed. They were hovering near her bed in her apartment, late in the evening, and he had to leave soon to get back home.

Joelle tapped his bottom. "What's your deal, cornbread? You're being squirrelly. Your mom waiting up for ya?" She snickered playfully. Tommy took a deep breath. "Actually, I, uh…" He clapped his hands together as he searched for words. "I was wanting to ask you something." Joelle tucked her thumbs into the back pockets of her jeans and faced him. "Shoot."

"You can totally say no if you think it's lame, but… Well, prom is coming up, and of course people keep asking me who I'm going to take…" "Aww, you wanna take me to prom?" "I mean, only if you want to go." He started rambling. "It's probably weird, since you don't go to Pleasantville, but I was gonna go, with Merton and Kali, and-" "Yeah, it sounds fun." "I- yeah? Okay. Cool." Tommy nodded, and took a deep breath. "Great. So… great."

Joelle laughed. "Did you think I was going to say no? It's like a glorified school dance, not a night at the opera." "I just… thought you might think it was kinda lame." "It is kinda lame. But doing something lame can be cool sometimes." She nudged Tommy. "Besides you only get one senior prom, right?" Tommy smiled. "Right."

---

A few days later, Merton sat down across from Tommy in the school cafeteria.

"So I talked to Trev last night, and he definitely thought someone was watching him on Monday night." Tommy pointed with his fork. "I told you!" He leaned in close, glancing around. "So what did he say it was?" Merton shrugged. "He doesn't know. He said it just felt like something was watching him, but there were some other people in the area and nothing happened." Tommy took a big bite of chicken, thinking it over. "So whatever it is… it's just watching him?" "Sounds like a stalker. Maybe it's just a normal creepy person, and not a monster." "Maybe…" Tommy shrugged, brow still furrowed. "So were you two camped out last night?" "No Tom, I value sleep," Merton quipped. "We picked out a bunch of movies. Gonna finish them tonight."

"Shouldn't we watch Trev get off work tonight?" "Nah, he's got the night off. He should be fine." Merton smirked. "Why? Do you want to meet Joelle at the Bucket a few hours before school starts?" "Ha, ha." Tommy pulled a face at his friend. "For your information, Merton, it's her night off." "Why don't you two join us watching movies in the Lair?"

Tommy shrugged. "She said she had plans." Merton nodded. "Alright, well why don't you join us?" "I'll think about it. I was gonna do a lap of the town, make sure there's nothing hinky going on."

"Well… when you're done with that, you know where to find us. Just don't get yourself in any trouble." Tommy smirked, mimicking Merton's comment from the other night. "What's gonna happen?" Merton rolled his eyes and held a hand up. "Don't come crying to me when saying that backfires on you."

---

"Good evening."

Merton looked up from the couch. He hadn't heard his exterior door open, but standing in the doorway was a girl in an oversized black hoodie and tight black jeans, aiming a crossbow at him. Covering her face was a full metal mask with rabbit ears, the hood of her sweater covering her head.

"H-hi," he stuttered, muting the DVD menu. "You're the resident werewolf expert, right?" "Uhhh- what?" Merton lied badly, laughing nervously as he stood up, arms raised defensively. "There's no such thing as werewolves, ha…" He wheezed when she took two long strides closer. "You probably shouldn't lie to me." Her voice was cold and biting.

Kalida entered the room from the door that led upstairs, carrying a bowl of popcorn. "Becky says your parents-" she froze, startled by their visitor.

The mystery girl aimed the crossbow at Kalida now.

"No no no no," Merton stammered, falling over the back of the couch. He straightened up and put himself between them, his arms stretched out toward the intruder, wincing. "I'll tell you whatever you want, just don't hurt Kalida." Kalida looked between Merton and the rabbit girl. "W-what's happening? Are we getting robbed?" The intruder shook the crossbow at Merton. "Talk!"

Merton gestured wildly. "Okay, yes! Werewolves are real! What do you need to know?!" "Merton," Kalida hissed. He wasn't going to out Tommy, was he? "Where's the Syndicate's hideout?" Merton raised a brow. "The evil werewolf syndicate? Why?" "I'm doing the asking here."

"W-well, they had a castle outside of town, but the, uh," Merton pubbed the back of his neck, "local chapter folded." "What do you mean, folded?" "I mean, I sent a werewolf-eating vampire over for a visit and haven't been bothered by them since."

Kalida blinked at Merton, then whispered. "You really did that?" Merton gave a small shrug, grimacing as he realized he'd never told her about Cassandra. "It's a long story." The rabbit's shoulders lowered and she held the crossbow with both hands, so she wasn't aiming it at them anymore. "So you are a hunter." "W-well, I don't think I've ever used that term-" "We fight monsters, if that's what you mean." Kalida interrupted. "The bad ones, anyway. To keep the town safe."

The rabbit girl tilted her head slightly. "So the rumors about the Pleasantville Werewolf…?" "Nothing to be concerned about," Merton shook his head. There was a tense silence between the three for a moment. Finally the rabbit girl nodded. "Cool." She ducked and rolled out the back door and disappeared into the night.

Merton rushed to the door and flipped the deadbolt, leaning his head against the frame. "I am never leaving that unlocked again." Kalida put the popcorn bowl down and grabbed Merton's phone, punching in a series of numbers. Merton turned and raised a brow. "What are you doing?" "Calling Tommy."

---

Tommy paced the floor in the Lair while Merton ate cold popcorn. Tommy was wolfed out, wearing his letterman jacket.

"I can't believe you just let her go!" Tommy ran his hands through his hair, making it stick up even straighter than usual. Merton rolled his eyes. "We didn't let her go. She had a crossbow aimed at us. I didn't exactly have the upper hand here." Kalida gave her cousin a sympathetic look. "Tommy, you need to calm down." "Calm down?! There's a masked, armed hunter looking for the Pleasantville Werewolf!" "W-well technically she was looking for the syndicate." Merton corrected. "Yeah, I think she bought that there wasn't a werewolf issue anymore," Kalida added hopefully.

Tommy threw his hands in the air. "Oh, great, that makes it all better." He glared at Kalida. "You guys don't know what it's like, worrying about stuff like this!" Kalida rubbed her arm. "I dunno, I worry about you a lot.." Merton frowned. "In case you forgot, we're attacked by monsters every week, and we don't have superpowers." He motioned at Tommy's upper body. "At least you can defend yourself." Tommy scowled at Merton. "Yeah, that's totally the same thing as being specifically hunted." Merton stood up defiantly, pointing at his chest. "I've had my life in danger how many times!? Witches, vampires, etcetera, ad nauseum? Nevermind how many times I've stuck my neck out trying to protect your secret-"

Kalida threw her hands up. "Whoa, why are we fighting!? Relax!" She gave them both dirty looks. "There's a hunter in town. That means Tommy, you can't be seen like this. So calm the hell down." She glanced over at Merton. "However we ended up here, it's what we're dealing with today. Let's just… think this through. Together." Tommy folded his arms and sat against the edge of Merton's desk, frowning. "So what do we do now?"

Merton let out a long sigh, then sat back down on the armrest of his couch. "I think we shouldn't do anything. Just… lie low for a bit til the hunter leaves town." Tommy sighed heavily and rolled his eyes. "Easy for you to say." Kalida shifted her weight. "What else is there?" "Hunt down the threat, take it out!" Tommy cried. "For all we know she's a human. We don't kill people last I checked, Tom." Kalida frowned. "That's right, I don't think she's something we can really fight. We just have to hope it's not an issue."

Tommy deflated somewhat. It was true that he didn't want to hurt a normal person. He covered his face with his clawed hands. Kalida walked over and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. "No matter what, we've got your back. I won't let anyone take you away from here." Tommy lowered his hands and studied her face, then closed his eyes to focus on trying to dewolf. "Besides. We haven't seen her before, so she's probably just rolling through." Merton nodded. "Kali's right, she probably just came to fight the syndicate and this will all blow over. And… if it doesn't, the three of us will deal with it somehow." "I guess." Tommy's facial hair and claws receded, ears rounding back to their normal shape. He opened his eyes, now the familiar soft brown of his fully human form. "Thanks guys."

Kalida gave Tommy a sudden, tight hug. "Just don't go Wolfy outside for a few days. No midnight solo runs to burn off steam. Okay?" He snorted and patted her back. "Okay, sure." "Promise?" "I promise."

Merton drummed his fingers on his cheek. "I'm having a thought." Kalida raised her brow. "Yeah?" "Well… what if the thing that's been watching Trevor is this hunter?" Tommy's eyes glowed yellow and a low growl sounded in his throat. "I just can't figure why she isn't doing anything. She had no problem breaking into my Lair." "Well… maybe she's not sure if Trevor's a vampire? He hasn't been necking with Amy in the parking lot, right?" Tommy let out a big sigh. "But wouldn't a hunter be able to tell? Why not just jump him and find out?" Merton gestured with his hands to demonstrate the intruder's size. "She's smallish. Maybe she's not strong enough to take a vampire on one-on-one." "But she's gonna take on the Evil Werewolf Syndicate?" Merton shrugged, then threw up his hands. "I dunno!" Kalida chewed her lip. "Maybe she's just doing recon. But where did she start?"

She moved around Merton's desk and sat at the computer. "If she thought Merton was just another hunter, she'd have no reason to think he was going to attack her, right? But she didn't know the syndicate was handled." Kalida typed into the internet browser. "She'd heard of the Pleasantville Werewolf, but thought they were a part of the syndicate. So she hasn't been in town long." Merton nodded along, but frowned. "What are you looking up?" Kalida glanced over at him. "What info you've posted to about your hunting." Merton gawked. "Are you saying that I somehow brought this hunter upon us?" Kalida scanned Merton's post activity logs and forum profile. "Okay, well, you listed your town, and you've mentioned being in the Gothic Fantasy Guild at your school… The paper just did that piece on you, right?" She reached her hand out to Tommy. "Phonebook?"

Tommy scrunched his face up in confusion, but passed Kalida Merton's phone book from off a nearby shelf. Kalida flipped through and sighed loudly. "You're the only Dingles in town. Phone number and address listed." Merton shrugged. "So?" "So, it took me about two minutes to put together that KingofMertonia from Pleasantville was Merton Dingle who lives at-" Merton threw his hands up. "Okay, okay, so I haven't exactly hidden my identity online. But why would another hunter from the forum come here looking for werewolves if we've clearly got it in the bag?"

"Well…" Kalida continued scrolling through his post history. "Because you mentioned the syndicate but not explicitly that it was gone. You also confirmed on another thread that the Pleasantville Werewolf is not just an urban legend-" Tommy shot Merton a dirty look. Merton smiled sheepishly. "-And you casually mentioned in this thread that you're probably moving out of town in the fall."

The three teens all glanced at, and then away from each other awkwardly.

"She's probably just casing out the town to take over the hunting here." Tommy sat on the back of the couch. "Who would want to hunt monsters?" Merton held up a talon from the bird creatures they fought several weeks before. "Monster parts fetch a pretty penny online, actually." Kalida shook her head in disgust. "Gross." She opened several of the active threads in individual tabs and started looking more closely at them.

Tommy rubbed the back of his neck. "So there's a new hunter in town, okay… How do we get them to leave me alone?" "First we have to figure out who they are…" Kalida gestured at the screen. "Obviously someone with an account on here, because you have to log in to see the posts." "Well that ought to narrow it down." "Yeah, to about twenty thousand active users in the last 3 months, globally." Tommy groaned loudly.

Merton moved to watch the screen over Kalida's shoulder. "Wouldn't it be someone who comments on these threads?" "Maybe. She might just be a lurker, though." Tommy started eating the abandoned popcorn. "If she's here to take over hunting, why not just make friends with us? Why break in?" "To establish dominance?" Kalida shrugged, grimacing. "There are all sorts of hunters out there. Some are pretty antisocial. Besides, for all she knows, we'd take offense at someone being on our turf." Merton pulled a face. "Then why announce her presence by coming to the Lair?" Kalida frowned. "Good point. Maybe… maybe she's just a loner with a thing against werewolves specifically. Maybe it's not even her that's been stalking Trevor."

"Maybe she's not new to town, either, maybe she's just new to hunting." Tommy stopped eating for a moment and looked over at them. "A small girl who knows where Merton lives and is into monsters? Couldn't it just be Margaret?" Kalida blinked. "Holy sh-" Merton sighed loudly. "It wasn't. Margaret isn't that tall, and I'd recognize her voice." Kalida relaxed slightly. "And…" She licked her lips. "I feel like Margaret would use it as a way to get close to Merton, rather than threaten him." Merton glanced down at Kalida, confused by the shift in her tone.

Tommy rolled his eyes. "I guess you're right. Woulda been easier to deal with, though." "Yeah." Kalida rubbed her arm, looking down. "For now we don't have much to go on. This hunter could be nothing to worry about, or pretty bad." Merton tapped Kali's shoulder. "Here, let me sit down. I'm gonna post about this on the forum. Maybe our hunter friend will reply."

---

Kalida sat cross-legged on her bed, eyes closed. The night air from her open window brought in the smell of rain and the sounds of cars in the distance. Dean's Brady Bunch reruns from the living room made a dull rumble through the walls in regular intervals, but otherwise the house was quiet. Tommy had actually looked tired from worry when he'd turned in, and Sally and Bob were already in their pajamas when the teens had gotten home.

Kalida, on the other hand, couldn't sleep. The hunter had tracked down Merton, and asked about werewolves, putting both the guys in her life in danger. She wasn't sure which of them to worry over more. Plus something about Merton's assertions of moving out of Pleasantville was making her feel uneasy. Naturally, no matter where they went to school, it wouldn't be in Pleasantville, but only Tommy was firm in his decision to go to State. The thought that she was letting herself get excited over going to prom with Merton, when they might not even be in the same country come September, made her feel stupid in a way that she wasn't used to.

She sighed and opened her eyes. Well, meditation isn't working. I wish I had my cards in here… She contemplated going out to the camper, she didn't want Bob to catch her.

She turned around and flopped back on her mattress so that her feet were on either side of her pillow, head at the foot of her bed. Maybe we can just convince the hunter to just work with us. Or at least leave Tommy alone. She thought back to way the mystery girl had pointed the loaded crossbow at her and Merton. She was confident dealing with us. So why be hesitant around Trevor?

She was distracted by the soft bing of her MSN chat notification. She rolled off the side of the bed and sat quietly at the computer, flicking on the monitor. A chat window was blinking, minimized, on her taskbar. When she opened it up, she saw that it was Margie - one of her friends from the Granville Gang.

Fatty Mermaid : so dustin asked me to prom

Kalida rubbed her face and got to typing.

·.· ɥʇnos uʍop ɐp!ןɐʞ ·.·: Hey. ·.· ɥʇnos uʍop ɐp!ןɐʞ ·.·: Did you say yes? Fatty Mermaid : yeah but ·.· ɥʇnos uʍop ɐp!ןɐʞ ·.·: but? Fatty Mermaid : kinda wanted to go with lacey ·.· ɥʇnos uʍop ɐp!ןɐʞ ·.·: Did you ask her? Fatty Mermaid : no Fatty Mermaid : cant now i guess ·.· ɥʇnos uʍop ɐp!ןɐʞ ·.·: Does Dustin think it's like a serious date? Or…? Fatty Mermaid : idk were not like into each other i think maybe im his beard lmao

Kalida sighed and shook her head. All of this would have been so interesting to her a few months earlier, but at the moment it felt… trivial.

Fatty Mermaid : u goin with goth kid ·.· ɥʇnos uʍop ɐp!ןɐʞ ·.·: Merton, yeah. Fatty Mermaid : u in love ·.· ɥʇnos uʍop ɐp!ןɐʞ ·.·: I dunno. I like him but we might not even be going to school in the same country next year. Fatty Mermaid : so Fatty Mermaid : first off that doesnt change ur feelings Fatty Mermaid : anyway u can just decide to go together Fatty Mermaid : u love him or no ·.· ɥʇnos uʍop ɐp!ןɐʞ ·.·: I don't know. I like him, okay? I want to go where he goes but like I also want to go where Tommy goes and I don't want to miss all of you guys. I can't have it all. Idk. Fatty Mermaid : fukin hell Fatty Mermaid : r u gonna choose between ur cusin and ur bf rly Fatty Mermaid : arnt they friends Fatty Mermaid : u 3 can go together ·.· ɥʇnos uʍop ɐp!ןɐʞ ·.·: I'd like that but it would mean Merton and I would both have to decide to go to State U. Fatty Mermaid : u can always visit Fatty Mermaid : anyway steve is prolly not stayin here Fatty Mermaid : bob said they might go to ontario ·.· ɥʇnos uʍop ɐp!ןɐʞ ·.·: Oh god. Fatty Mermaid : thats what happens when u grow up Fatty Mermaid : ppl just move around ·.· ɥʇnos uʍop ɐp!ןɐʞ ·.·: Yeah, I guess so. It just sucks.

Kalida stared at the keyboard a moment.

·.· ɥʇnos uʍop ɐp!ןɐʞ ·.·: I used to have everything planned out, and now I feel like nowhere is home. Fatty Mermaid : sweetie Fatty Mermaid : no Fatty Mermaid : home is where u r happy Fatty Mermaid : just be happy ·.· ɥʇnos uʍop ɐp!ןɐʞ ·.·: Yeah, thanks, M. I'll just *decide* to be happy. Fatty Mermaid : I mean it Fatty Mermaid : life is short Fatty Mermaid : anyway why u still up

Kalida thought about how to reply. "I'm worried about someone trying to kill my cousin when I'm not looking. Even though we fight monsters all the time anyway."

·.· ɥʇnos uʍop ɐp!ןɐʞ ·.·: stressed about finals Fatty Mermaid : u have time Fatty Mermaid : u should get ur sleep or that big brain a urs wont work

Kalida snorted.

·.· ɥʇnos uʍop ɐp!ןɐʞ ·.·: Yeah, you're right. Nighty night.

---

The trio met up at Merton's lair after school the following day. "I just feel hinky about it." Tommy paced back and forth, shaking his head. Kalida was sitting on the edge of Merton's desk. "Yeah… but… she replied." Merton nodded, sitting at his computer. "She wants us to meet up with her on neutral ground to talk. There's nothing to suggest she has anything against us." "There's nothing to suggest you can trust her, either!" Tommy scoffed. "She knows where I live, so if she wanted to do anything, she could have done it by now."

Kalida chewed her bottom lip. Merton was right, of course. Both he and Tommy were in danger because of this hunter girl.

Tommy leaned against the front of the desk. "Okay, so where does she want to meet us?" "Oh, actually…" Merton winced. Kalida turned to her cousin. "Tommy, you really shouldn't come." Tommy looked at Kalida like she'd just called him a bad word. "What?" "Look, Tommy, as much as having our resident werewolf on scene would put us at ease-" Merton began. "She doesn't know about you, so it would just put you in danger," Kalida continued.

Tommy looked between them, nostrils flaring out. "So you two just decided this? You just make plans without me now?" "No, Tommy, that's not it." Kalida frowned. "It's just that she specifically asked about you-" "And you don't think I can handle one girl even with you there." "That's not it." "Since when did the werewolf not get a vote in the monster hunting?!" "Tommy, don't be such a bonehead." Merton stood up, expression abnormally stern. "We're just trying to protect you. Who knows what kind of trap she might be laying? Showing up wolfed out is just going to put her on edge." "So I go in as a human, and wolf out if needed." "But that would reveal your identity," Kalida reminded him gently. "As far as we know, this is a human we're talking about. You can't just poof her at the end of our chat."

Tommy let out a big sigh and rolled his eyes. "Yeah, whatever. Have fun without me." He grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. "Tommy-" Kalida pursed her lips at the slamming of the door. Merton took a breath, then sat back down at his computer to reply to the private message the hunter had sent him.

See you there at 10.

"Do you think he's really mad?" Kalida wrung her hands, not facing Merton. "Nah." He finished what he was doing and turned off his monitor. "He didn't even get glowy eyes. He knows we're right, he's just frustrated about it." He walked over and rubbed her back reassuringly. "We'll sort this all out and everything will go back to normal." "I hope so."

---

Merton gripped the steering wheel tightly as they made their way up the gravel road to the lookout. He was both surprised and somewhat uneasy that their interloper had chosen this as their meeting spot. It was isolated and dark, and he was having second thoughts about bringing Kalida with him.

"This bunny girl better not try anything." Kalida was sitting in the passenger seat pouting. She'd been in a sour mood since Tommy had left the lair. Luckily it seemed to be directed entirely at the person they were about to meet, and not at Merton.

"At least there's two of us, right?" Merton forced a light tone. Normally he was more of a pacifist, avoiding danger, but after the break in he felt like he needed to deal with things in order to keep Kalida safe. He thought back to the way the masked intruder had pointed a weapon at his girlfriend. She could have been hurt. Or worse. He thought back to Kalida's account of Merton being attacked by the scorpion monster in the alternate reality and shivered.

"I guess we're here." He pulled into the lookout clearing and killed the engine, looking out the windows and windshield for any sign of life. "Well there's no other car up here…" "Maybe she didn't want us to read her plates," Kalida offered. Merton snorted. "Is that what you were planning to do?" "Duh." Kalida looked over at Merton. "Wouldn't you?" "Honestly Kal, I didn't think that far. Maybe you should be a detective when you graduate." "Detective by day, hunter by night." She put on a low voice, mimicking tv commercials. "When the justice system fails, she stalks the shadows." Merton laughed. "Sounds just like you."

They both started at the knock on the driver's side window. The bunny mask was barely visible in the din.

Kalida opened her door first, and got out, staring down the other girl from over the hood of the hearse. "Just here to talk, right?" She nodded and stepped a few feet away from Merton's door. "Right." Merton got out slowly, keeping his back to Kalida. "So do you have a name?" "You can call me L." "Like the letter?" "Sure."

"Alright… So, are you just passing through town, or do you live here now…?" She tilted her metal mask sideways. "Does it matter?" Kalida piped in. "We just want to know how this is going to affect our dealings with the locals. How stealthy are you? What are you hunting? Are we gonna get in each other's ways…?" "I can handle myself. I'm not hunting anything specific. Any monster I find is free game in my book."

Merton put his hands up. "Okay, well there are a few harmless monsters in town-" "No. Monster. Is. Harmless." L's tone was biting. She held up a hand, pointing a silver dagger at Merton threateningly, despite the distance between them. "And if I find you getting in my way, I'll consider you a threat."

"So you just come to town and expect to take over the monster hunting with no regard to what's already been happening?" Kalida grimaced, annoyed. "We could be allies, work together to be more efficient." "I don't need your help," L shook her dagger at Kalida. "And I don't care to give you mine." Merton rolled his eyes. "Well, this is productive." "Just bag your prey, I'll bag mine, we can pretend each other don't exist. We all get our spoils. Win win." "We don't hunt for spoils, though. We actually care about protecting the town." "Well how sweet for you. I'll be sure to find you a sheriff badge to go with that self-righteous attitude. Or maybe a halo?"

"You don't have to be so snarky." "Look, sugar lumps. You wanna play nice with Dracula, that's your deal. I got mine. Stay out of my way and I'll stay out of yours. End of." She took several steps backward, then ran into the dark woods, disappearing.

Merton drummed his fingers on the roof of the hearse, staring off into space. "That went well," he snarked. "Whatever, she was rude." "I wasn't blaming you." Kalida flopped into the passenger seat pouting.

Merton joined her in the front seat and locked the doors, sighing. "We've done what we can." "What if she hurts Tommy?" Kalida looked over at him with wet eyes, worry painting her face. He reached a hand out to pat her shoulder. "She won't. He's tough, and he fights things all the time." "Monsters. This is different." "If she's trying to kill Tommy, it's not really that different."

Kalida shook her head. "Meaning what? We're okay with murder all of a sudden?" "I doubt he'd kill her, but… He could be scary if he tried. You've never seen an evil werewolf before, but it's..." Merton shook his head. "That was literally the first thing she asked about when we met her. I'd say she's probably not afraid of them."

"Then what do you suggest? We go to the police and say some crazy chick with a crossbow broke into my house and asked about monsters?" "I don't know. I'm just… worried." "I know." Merton started up the engine and tapped his hands on the steering wheel. "I know."

---

Tommy walked down the quiet street in his letterman jacket, letting the cool night air calm him. It smelled like rain, but it was still dry, and he had been too antsy to wait at home for Kalida to get back.

They're probably done by now. He knew he should check in, but he was still irritated from being left out, and too embarrassed to admit it. Maybe they were just trying to keep him safe, but he was used to being the one doing the protecting. They were his pack, not his bodyguards.

He shoved his hands in his pockets and thought back to the way he'd walked out while Kali was trying to say something. She's probably still mad. I bet she complained to Merton about it. He found himself smirking a bit, trying not to laugh.

---

A couple blocks away, Trevor stepped outside for a smoke break. The movie store had been quiet all night, and he figured it wouldn't hurt if there were no customers around.

He took a long, slow drag when an uneasy feeling washed over him. The same sense of being watched that had plagued him before. He glanced about the empty parking lot and turned to go back inside.

A dark figure blocked the doorway. Trevor played it cool, taking another drag of his cigarette.

The person was wearing some kind of big hoodie and a weird mask. "I know what you are." L took a step toward him. "Do you, now…" Trevor blew his smoke to the side. "What am I, exactly?"

The masked girl held a wooden stake up. "About to die."

---

Tommy came upon the parking lot to see two people fighting outside the movie rental store. He stopped dead and peered carefully, only to realize that the brunette in the lime green t-shirt was Trevor - in full vampire face - and he was fighting someone that looked a lot like the bunny girl that Merton and Kalida had described to him.

Without a second thought, Tommy wolfed out and ran toward the two, wrestling between them to push them apart. Trevor stumbled backward, barely catching himself from falling.

"What's going on?" Tommy looked between L and Trevor, hands up defensively. "Well that's rich, don't usually see werewolves and vampires working together." L took a few steps back, but composed herself into a fighting stance again. "Thought there was some monster rivalry. Shouldn't you be biting each other?" "Nah, we're a friendly town."

"I'm sure all the normies have warm fuzzies for you guys." snarked L. Tommy narrowed his eyes at her. "Yeah, well, neither of us have attacked anyone. Which is more than I can say for you." He glanced back at Trevor. "You alright?" Trevor nodded, catching his breath a bit. His long fangs sat awkwardly in his mouth, and he looked uncomfortable to be exposed.

"Let me guess, you're friendly monsters?" the masked hunter mocked. "As a matter of fact, yeah." Tommy beat his chest. "Pleasantville Werewolf, here to protect the town from crazy masked weirdos like yourself." "Careful." Trevor wiped at his nose. "She's human. I can smell it." Tommy let out a low growl. "Come on, bunny girl, let's see what you got." L pushed her stake into the large front pocket of her sweater and pulled out the silver dagger she had pointed at Merton earlier. "Bring it, dog boy."

"Werewolf," Tommy corrected, lunging at her legs. The two struggled on the ground, trading higher ground and hard blows until L pressed the dagger against Tommy's face somewhat by accident. Tommy hissed, pulling back, then clawed at her, his claws finding purchase on the side of her mask. It fell to the ground with a clunk, and he reeled as her face was exposed.

Joelle stared back at him with wide eyes for a split second, before scrambling to put her mask back on.

They were distracted as a car pulled into the parking lot. Joelle ran off into the night while Tommy stared incredulously as Merton and Kalida stepped out of the hearse.

"What's going on…?" Merton motioned at Tommy and Trevor. "You have your monster faces on. Are you beefing now?" Kalida made eye contact with Tommy, frowning at his disturbed expression. "Are you alright?"

Trevor closed his eyes and shook his head a bit as his fangs receded and his face went back to normal. "You have some timing, Mr. Dingle." Kalida held up two dvd cases. "We just came to drop off our rentals. What the hell happened?"

---

The trio stood around the checkout counter while Trevor checked the security camera footage. Trevor had done most of the recounting of what had happened, and Tommy had more or less shrugged along.

"Luckily this system is from the eighties, so it's crap quality. You can't tell who we are, just that there were some people outside, maybe fighting." Kalida half-grimaced. "You say luckily, but that kind of sucks if something actually did happen…" "Today it's lucky for us," Trevor wagged his thumb between himself and Tommy. "Yeah, the last thing I need is to be featured on the evening news wolfing out," Tommy agreed, sighing.

Kalida looked her cousin over, noting the almost healed scald mark on his cheek from where the silver had touched him, the grime on the back of his letterman jacket, and his nervous foot tapping. Merton had his arms crossed, lost in thought.

Kalida offered a sympathetic smile to their local vampire. "Are you sure you're okay? You don't want us to stick around until you're off shift?" "Amy and her brother are on their way over. I've got a couple nights off after this." Merton raised a brow. "You think she'll leave you alone?" "I hope she does." "What if she doesn't, though?" Trevor glanced over to Tommy. "What do you think, Mr. Dawkins? Self defense?" Tommy's face paled somewhat at the comment. "Uhh… I mean, don't let her kill you, obviously. But…" "But don't kill her?" Kalida asked gently.

"And maybe don't make her a vampire," Merton added, wheezing softly. "You know. Just in case she isn't as friendly as you." Trevor snorted. "Like I'd do something like that." "Might make her more sympathetic," Kalida offered half-jokingly.

They waited around forcing chit chat until finally Trevor's girlfriend and her brother arrived.

The trio piled into Merton's hearse and started making their way back to the lair. "Okay, spill it." Kalida said, turning to Tommy accusingly. "Wh-what?" Tommy's eyes bulged slightly and he looked around nervously. "Whatever you didn't want to say back there. You're being weird." "I'm not being weird." Tommy's voice was abnormally raised and defensive. Merton glanced over, then back to the road. "Yeah… you kinda are." Tommy swallowed and looked out the window.

A few long minutes of thick silence later, they pulled into Merton's usual spot at his house.

Everyone avoided eye contact as they went inside, until finally Merton threw his hands up. "Come on!" Tommy hunched his shoulders. "Just… well, hear me out." He started talking more animatedly. "Maybe the hunter isn't so bad, right? She just doesn't realize that me and Trevor are… you know, safe." Kalida narrowed her eyes, and Merton held his hands under his armpits, looking confused.

"You know," Tommy continued. "We just need to… To get to know her!" "Yeah, Tom, that went real well earlier tonight when we met up with her," Merton quipped, rolling his eyes. "Not that you've asked at all how that went." Tommy blinked. "Oh, right. Uh. How did it go?" "Seriously?" Merton shook his head at his friend, then went to sit at his desk. "You were all pissy about it and stormed out and then you - what? Forgot?" "Tommy, what the hell?" Kalida agreed.

Tommy flopped back to lay across Merton's couch, covering his face with his arms. "Nothing! Just tell me how your meetup went." Kalida and Merton shared a look. "Well she didn't expressly threaten us, I guess," Merton tilted his head. "It was weird." "Probably not very productive," Kalida continued. "We did try to tell her that some of the local monsters are harmless. Didn't go so well." "Well… maybe she's just afraid. Had a… bad experience, or something." Tommy offered.

"What is your deal?" Kalida leaned over the back of the couch and frowned down at her cousin. "You're being weirdly defensive of this chick all of a sudden. Why?" "I'm not," Tommy whined. Kalida pulled his arms off of his face. "Why?" There was a pregnant pause as the two cousins faced each other down.

Finally, Tommy sighed and rolled his eyes. "I know who she is." "What?!"

Merton slammed his hands down on the desk. "Are you serious? You were just going to sit on that little nugget?" He gaped at the back of the couch, unable to see Tommy. "So spill! Let's ride into the night! Who is the masked rabbit?" Tommy got up and shook his head. "No, I don't want to say." "You're joking." "She doesn't want anyone to know. She hides her face, right?" Tommy gestured.

"Okay, but Tommy, we don't keep things from each other." Kalida gestured between the three of them. Tommy pointed at Merton. "Just last week I found out that Merton's been secretly keeping all my nail clippings!" Merton scoffed defensively. "For research!"

Kalida pouted and stared Tommy down. "Okay, but we don't keep secrets." Tommy stuck his chin out, pouting back, then looked down at the floor. "I know, but…" "More importantly, Tommy," Merton interjected. "The hunter knows who Kalida and I are. That puts her at an advantage, and us in danger if we encounter her in town." Tommy's shoulders slumped. "I guess… I just, I feel like if I could just talk to her, you know?" "Yeah, it would be great if that solved all our problems…" Kalida sighed. "I'm gonna go." Tommy rushed to the door.

"Tommy wai-" Merton held his hand out toward the already closing door. "And he's gone. Again." Kalida slumped onto the couch and let herself fall into a lying position. "I'm sure he'll be okay," Merton offered meekly as he went to lock the door. "He just gets a little cranky when he thinks he knows best. But he's got an alright head on his shoulders everything considered."

"You don't have to defend him." She let out a whine. "I'm just worried about him." "I know all too well." Merton sat down on the empty seat on the couch. "He's a little reckless for someone with a secret identity." "He knows who the hunter is, and he's not telling us. His best friends." Merton frowned. "I'm not happy about it either."

---

Tommy drummed his fingers against the counter in the kitchen, waiting for Joelle to pick up. His parents were out at a movie, and Dean was watching Gilligan's Island in the living room. Tommy had changed out of his dirtied clothing and had a glass of milk while talking himself into and out of meeting up with her.

"Hullo?" Joelle's voice was somewhat strained on the other end of the line. "Hey! It's me. Tommy." "Oh. Hey cornbread, what's up? You couldn't wait to see me tomorrow night?" "Uhh.. yeah, something like that. Say, could I head over?"

"Right now? You sure you're not going to break curfew? It's pretty late." "Ha ha. Yes. So is it okay?" "Ahh… Alright, sure. I'll put on some coffee." "Okay, great. I'll uh, I'll be there in ten." "See you soon."

Tommy hung up the phone and ran a hand through his hair. He let out a loud breath and rushed out the back door without saying goodbye to Dean.

---

Tommy put his hands in his back pockets as Joelle ushered him into the apartment.

"Sorry for coming over so late." He could smell the coffee that was half-empty in the kitchen. "It's cool." She looked him over. "What's wrong? You're being awkward again. There's not some weird prom ritual you're going to spring on me now that I've said yes to going is there?" she laughed. "N-no. It's not about prom."

He looked her over, noting the small scratches at the edge of her face from when he'd knocked the mask off. He reached out and touched it gently, frowning. "Yikes." She flinched at the touch, tucking some hair behind her ear. "It's nothing. I just need to be more careful sometimes." Tommy cleared his throat and took a few steps further into her apartment, unsure how to bring it all up.

She came up behind him and wrapped her arms around his torso, pressing her face into his back. "It's been a long day. It's nice to see you." "Y-yeah, today's been a weird one." Joelle snorted. "Somehow I have a hard time imagining your day being much weirder than mine." "I kept fighting with my friends. They didn't want me getting involved in their plans tonight." "Maybe that's for the best." Joelle let go and walked around to his front. "That Merton kid's kinda strange anyway. And who hangs out with their cousin?" She hooked her fingers into his belt loops.

"Hey, don't do that." "Do what?" she asked too innocently, batting her eyes at him with a little pout. "Don't say crap about them. You don't know them like I do." "Rawr, okay, sorry." She frowned. "Who pissed in your cornflakes?" Tommy sighed. "Like I said, it's just been… a weird day."

"So let's forget about it." Joelle took Tommy's hand and led him to the couch. "Sit down, take a load off." Tommy sat down and ran his hands along his thighs, trying to push the words out that were weighing so heavily on him. Joelle straddled his lap, wrapping her arms around the back of his neck. "You gotta relax."

Tommy put his hands on her torso as she started kissing his neck. "This isn't why I came here…" He let out a small laugh as her breath tickled him. "So?" "Joelle, I have to tell you something." "If you're about to get mushy on me, don't." She pressed her lips against his. Tommy kissed back and waited until she pulled back to move his hands to her shoulders, keeping the distance between them.

"I saw you earlier." Joelle raised a brow. "Earlier when? I do exist when you're not around." "When you were in that rabbit mask."

Joelle's falsely carefree expression faded to concern. "How do you know about that?" "Look, don't freak out, okay? You know me. You know what I'm like."

"Tommy what the hell are you on about?" She pulled further away from him. He lifted his hands to appear non-threatening, then let himself wolf out in front of her. "Jesus!" She fell backwards off of him and scrambled over the coffee table. She yanked her VCR, cables included, into the air like a weapon. "Don't come any closer!"

"I'm not gonna hurt you." He stayed exactly where he was sitting, hands still raised. "Well I'm gonna hurt you!" "Joelle, I'm not an evil werewolf." "Do people seriously believe that? You just tell the idiot hunters you're a good monster and they eat it up?" "I'm serious! Merton and I have been fighting all the weird stuff that shows up in Pleasantville since I became a werewolf. I'm not evil."

She nodded in his direction. "Get up. Get out of my apartment. Now." "Joelle…" He stood up, shaking his head softly as his werewolf features receded. "It's just me, Tommy. You don't have to…" He gestured at the electronic equipment in her hand. "...freak out." "Don't freak out?! You're a werewolf!" "A good one! I swear!" Her eyes stung with tears. "I trusted you! I let you into my house, my bed!" "Joelle, I care about you. None of that changes just because I'm a werewolf." He put a hand over his heart. "I'm still me."

"What changes is that you didn't let me decide if I felt comfortable dating a freak before taking me to bed! You've been hiding this from me the whole time!" "Well- You've been hiding that you're a hunter the whole time!" "That's different. I was trying to protect you from…" She gestured at him, sneering. "Monsters." "I'm just a regular guy!" "No, you're not. Get out!"

Tommy backed up toward the door, heartbroken. "I wasn't trying to do wrong by you. I really like you. I just wanted to be your boyfriend." "Tough shit, cornbread. Consider yourself not my type. Do yourself a favor and give up on having a normal girlfriend. Anyone who finds out what you are is going to be just as freaked." "Jo-"

"GO!" She finally threw the VCR, which smashed on the ground right in front of him. "Don't ever talk to me again! Or I'll kill you!" Tommy ran out the door and into the night, his eyes glowing gold as his ears and face changed again.

---

Tags: @self-conscious-author

A/N: I wrote this a while back, don't be mad at me, lol. It did make me a little happy when you guessed the plot though.

--

Chapter 16 here

Chapters: 1&2, 3&4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

#big wolf on campus #big wolf on campus fanfic #bwoc #bwoc fanfic #merton x oc #merton j dingle #merton dingle #tommy dawkins #tommy dawkins x oc

[blairsanne]

In the Cards (14)

Big Wolf on Campus fanfic. Merton x OC. [Tommy also gets some pairings.]

Chapter Summary: The couples are getting hot and heavy, but a misprint in the paper leads to awkward situations for Tommy and Merton. A paintball tournament at the school reveals Margaret's feelings, and Margaret learns that Merton is dating Kalida.

CW: For the purposes of the fic I've decided they're 18, but - discussion of teenagers going "all the way" (offscreen). Homophobia directed at main characters.

Chapter 14: Paint

Merton let out a pleased whimper as Kalida's fingertips trailed down his neck. He had requested that they recreate part of their Lilin-energy-fueled encounter, and now found himself pressed between her and his bookshelf.

Her mouth found his again and they shared a deep kiss, her hand moving up to the back of his neck. He slid his hand up her t-shirt, then found purchase resting over her bra. He was surprised at the coarse texture - he hadn't expected lace. She broke the kiss and pressed her face into the nape of his neck. He could feel her chest rising and falling with her laboured breath.

She whispered hoarsely into his ear. "I'm getting kind of worked up." He let out a wistful sigh and put his free hand on her hip. In a blur of movement, he spun them around so that he was pressing her against the wall instead. "Me too." He kissed her hungrily, encouraged by the way she gripped at his shirt to keep him near. Years of teenage frustration meeting fruition made it hard to temper his enthusiasm. She sighed against his lips, cheeks hot. This was a side of Merton that she hadn't experienced before.

A sudden banging sound interrupted them.

Becky's voice called through the locked door to upstairs. "Freaker! Mom wants you to empty the dishwasher!" Merton pulled away and stuck his chin out, rolling his eyes. Kalida noted the edge of frustration in his expression.

He turned toward the door, one hand propping him against the shelf as he pulled the other out from under her shirt. "I'll be up in a second!" They heard the muffled sounds of Becky tromping back up the stairs. He turned his attention back to her. "Sorry about that."

She could feel the burning in her cheeks get worse. "I-it's okay." "I'll just be a few minutes." She adjusted her shirt. "Sure." He pulled away and closed his eyes, then took a few deep breaths to calm down. He flashed her an easy smile. "Can I get you anything?" She shrugged. "Maybe a cold drink?"

---

When Merton got upstairs, he quickly set to work. Becky came into the kitchen and pulled a soda out of the fridge. "Mom told you to do that hours ago." Merton rolled his eyes as he stacked plates in the cupboard. "I got distracted." Becky snorted. "You get caught up in another dork fight online?"

She suddenly raised an eyebrow. "Is that... lip gloss on your cheek?" "What?" Merton wiped his face with his hands, turning away. "No." "Ew, are you being weird again?" "Yeah, sure, whatever." He started sorting out the cutlery.

"Wait…" Becky walked around him to inspect his face. "Do you actually have a girl down there?" He held a finger up to her. "Just stay out of my personal life." "Oh em gee." Becky gawked. "What loser girl is in your creepy dungeon letting you-" she mimed vomiting, "kiss her?" "Lair." He let out a low growl, closing the now-empty dishwasher. "Goodnight, Becky."

She followed him to the top of the stairs. "You totally have a girl down there. Does mom know?" Merton put his hands on Becky's shoulders. "Becky, I am a senior. I am allowed to have people over. Now, I realize you're young and impressionable, but your big brother is growing up, and sometimes adults have urges-" "Gross, Freaker." Becky pushed Merton's face with both hands and squirmed away. "Why do you have to make everything so weird?!" She stormed off.

Merton took a deep, calming breath, then made his way down to the lair.

---

He was mildly disappointed to see Kalida reading when he returned. She was sitting cross-legged on his bed, absorbed in a tome about the witch trials that he'd ordered online. He noted the way she chewed on her bottom lip, frowning slightly at the text.

She glanced up at him. "All done?" "Yeah, I-" he winced suddenly, smacking his forehead. "I forgot your drink, sorry." She laughed. "It's fine." "It's just Becky…" he gestured, face belying his annoyance. "Really, it's fine."

He pointed his thumbs at his mini-fridge. "I've got Yoohoo down here." Kalida put a hand on her chest and closed her eyes. "Merton's finest. I'd be honoured." He wiggled his eyebrows at her, then set to work grabbing them each a bottle. He sat down next to her, crossing his legs before he passed her one.

"So, I can't help but notice you're on my bed." She glanced to the side. "I always read on your bed." She twisted the cap off her drink and took a sip. "You're just not usually on it with me." He took the book from her lap and placed it on the nightstand. "I can think of some other things we could do on it," he hedged. She glanced up at him, voice a whisper. "Your whole family is home." He nodded his head to the side in agreement. "That is true." He took a long drink of his cola. "Not exactly romantic." She picked at the label. "Maybe we could go camping sometime…" He smiled crookedly and leaned his head on her shoulder. "Yeah, I think that could be arranged."

---

Tommy leaned against the counter at The Hungry Bucket, drumming the fingers of his free hand as his other held a drink. He watched as Joelle packed up a box of chicken pieces for him. She'd pulled down her yellow uniform shirt to reveal more cleavage than the design intended, and he found his eyes wandering.

She held the box up for him with a smirk. "Four piece with fries." He flashed her a lopsided smile. "Thanks. You're off in ten, right?" "Can't you wait that long, lover?" she teased, leaning toward him. He fought the urge to look down her shirt and instead shook the box. "I'll be at a table."

He camped himself at a nearby spot and took a look around. It was late evening, and most of the clientele were high schoolers needing a place to loiter, picking at baskets of fries or nursing nearly-empty soda cups.

Amy - Trevor the movie store vampire's girlfriend - came over to clean up the table next to his. They made eye contact briefly, and she hurried to finish wiping the ketchup-smeared surface. She checked to make sure nobody was watching her, then moved closer to his table.

"It's Tommy, right?" she asked quietly, wiping a circle on the table. Tommy could sense her nerves, and it put him on edge. He nodded. "Uh, yeah. How's things?" She glanced around again then leaned a bit closer. "Has anything weird been happening? In town, I mean?" Tommy furrowed his brow, but kept his voice low. "There's almost always something, you have to be a little more specific."

She made a small humming noise. "It's just…" She moved over to his table and pretended to wipe a mess up. "Trev's been noticing someone following him. But he hasn't seen them." Tommy raised brow, and took a sip of his cola. "How did he notice them, then?" "He, um…" Amy avoided eye contact. "He can sense people… or something. He doesn't like to talk about it. He's embarrassed, I guess…" she trailed off, then cleared her throat. "I just thought maybe you'd know something. He won't say it, but he's worried… so I'm worried."

Tommy nodded slowly. "I'll ask Merton, maybe we can check it out." She met his gaze with a sudden, grateful smile. "Thank you." Then she picked up her things and hurried back toward the kitchen.

Tommy bit into a chicken thigh and considered what he knew about vampires. How do they sense people? It occurred to him that maybe he should pay more attention to Merton's ramblings about their monster encounters.

A few minutes later, Joelle slid into the seat across from his. She had partially covered her bright yellow uniform with a black leather jacket, and was tapping her purse absent-mindedly. "Shall we?" Tommy smiled. "Sure. Factory?" Joelle rolled her eyes. "Isn't there anyplace else?" Tommy laughed. "Uhh, it depends on what you're after. It's a pretty small town." He ran a hand through his hair. "There's a cool lookout, up the mountain a bit. Or we could... go to the park, or rent a movie…"

"Why don't we go back to my place? I got Halo." Tommy nodded, rubbing his hands on his pant legs. "Uhh, sure. Sounds good."

---

When Tommy stepped out into the carpeted hallway of the fourth floor, his nose immediately flooded with the smell of curry. "Guess someone's cooking," Joelle mumbled, keys jangling in her hand as she let Tommy to her suite. "Don't worry, my apartment won't smell like little India." Tommy grinned. "What? You're not gonna feed me butter chicken?" "I'm not much of a cook." She twisted her key in the lock. "Besides, chicken has lost its appeal, somehow." Tommy shook his head as he followed her into the dark suite. "I can't relate to that." She laughed, flicking on the light. "No, you're insatiable."

It was a modest space, a bachelor's suite with deep indigo walls and painted-black flooring. Her bed was in the far corner, behind a living-room set up. The decor was sparse; a dreamcatcher above the bed, a lone throw pillow on the couch. At the foot of her bed was a locked chest with a handful of books piled on top. Only an alarm clock adorned her dresser, a tiny pile of laundry on the floor next to it.

Tommy took a deep breath, Joelle's familiar scent filling his lungs like never before. "Don't you get lonely without a roommate?" She laughed. "I'm not really the lonely type." She wandered into her open kitchen. "You want a drink?" She shook a bottle of Jack Daniels at him. He frowned. "How'd you get that?" "I have connections." She waited a beat. "I'll take that as a no." She put the bottle back, rolling her eyes. "Help yourself to whatever, I'm gonna change."

To his surprise, she walked past him and started pulling off her uniform on her way to the dresser. He caught a glimpse of a tattoo on her back. He looked away as she pulled down her shorts, and busied himself inspecting the contents of her fridge. Energy drinks, protein shakes, a box of leftover pizza. Milk, coke, half a bag of bread and a jar of peanut butter. I guess if you eat by yourself, this is enough. He pulled the milk jug out and glanced in her direction again, equally relieved and disappointed to see that she'd already changed clothing.

"Was that a tattoo on your back?" he hedged. "Oh? So you were looking?" He laughed nervously. She held up a controller. "I hope you're ready to get your ass handed to you, by the way."

---

Kalida settled at her desk at the end of the night to type up her essay notes. Tommy still wasn't home, but he'd said something about hanging out with that Joelle girl, so she had a feeling he wasn't worried about missing sleep.

As she tapped away, her MSN binged in the taskbar. "I'm so popular," she teased herself as she clicked it open. It was Isaac.

DM Boy Blue: Goddess Kali ·.· ɥʇnos uʍop ɐp!ןɐʞ ·.·: How's it going? DM Boy Blue: Eh, it's going. Y'know how it is. Slacking online after planning out an epic campaign for these noobs. ·.· ɥʇnos uʍop ɐp!ןɐʞ ·.·: LOL! I was just working on my English essay. Teach wants me to write 1000 words about this boring novel. DM Boy Blue: Haha. Tell her how boring it was. ·.· ɥʇnos uʍop ɐp!ןɐʞ ·.·: She hasn't taken well to my feedback in that regard. DM Boy Blue: Pretend you're her, and write the essay she'd write. ·.· ɥʇnos uʍop ɐp!ןɐʞ ·.·: That's a good idea. Homework LARP. DM Boy Blue: Exactly. DM Boy Blue: So what's new and exciting in the good old US of A? ·.· ɥʇnos uʍop ɐp!ןɐʞ ·.·: I think Tommy has a girlfriend. Or like a casual one at least. DM Boy Blue: You and Martin working out? ·.· ɥʇnos uʍop ɐp!ןɐʞ ·.·: Merton. And yeah. DM Boy Blue: That's good. I'd have to slap him if he was being an idiot. ·.· ɥʇnos uʍop ɐp!ןɐʞ ·.·: Now now, no need for violence. DM Boy Blue: You guys going to prom? I hear it's like a big deal. ·.· ɥʇnos uʍop ɐp!ןɐʞ ·.·: He hasn't asked me yet, but my parents are coming to town to help me buy a dress. I think I'm more excited to see them than to buy the dress, though, haha. DM Boy Blue: Tight. I'm sure you'll look great regardless. ·.· ɥʇnos uʍop ɐp!ןɐʞ ·.·: I'll send you pics lol ·.· ɥʇnos uʍop ɐp!ןɐʞ ·.·: Let me know how the campaign goes. I expect a synopsis and highlights reel. DM Boy Blue: Will do, Goddess. DM Boy Blue: Glad things are going good. DM Boy Blue: Just wanted to check in while we were both online. I gotta hit the hay. DM Boy Blue: Miss you. ·.· ɥʇnos uʍop ɐp!ןɐʞ ·.·: Miss you too. ·.· ɥʇnos uʍop ɐp!ןɐʞ ·.·: Night.

---

Tommy bit his lip as Joelle pulled away. He was shirtless beneath her on the bed, trying to keep a level head.

She tossed her shirt to the floor, but as she reached to take off her bra, he put his hands over hers. "Hey, maybe we should… you know, take it easy…" She frowned slightly and rested her hands on his chest, still straddling his lap. "Oh. I guess I misinterpreted your-" she pressed down with her pelvis. "Interest."

He let out a strained laugh. "No, I'm interested," he conceded. "Just don't wanna take things too fast." She leaned over him and rubbed her nose against his. "Is it your first time, lover? I promise I'll be gentle." "That's not…" Tommy looked to the side. "If you want to wait, that's cool. But don't do it on my account." He ran a hand through her hair, trying to self-assess and be in the moment at the same time. "What's the rush?"

Her eyes were soft, but abnormally serious. "You're never promised tomorrow. If there's something you want, you should take it while you can."

He felt a pang of guilt, remembering his ex, Stacey, who had moved away. He was always bailing on her, stringing her along while failing to manage his wolf side. She could never count on him, and even after he'd told her how he felt, she'd left town. She'd gotten tired of waiting on him.

In that moment, he felt a sudden, new fear that he was going to lose Joelle. Another chance at real connection gone because he'd shied away from it to protect his secret. Am I just going to keep pushing girls away until none are willing to bother with me? He felt a burning need in his chest and kissed her forcefully, then rolled them over so he was pinning her to the bed. Joelle let out a playful growl. "Well hello, tiger."

---

Tommy flashed Merton a crooked grin as he sat down with his lunch tray. "Hey." "Hey. Sorry I'm late, I got caught up being shoved into my locker." Merton wheezed a laugh and straightened his shirt. Tommy frowned. "Lame. T'n'T again?" "I feel like I should have risen high enough in social status by now that they'd move on… Find a freshman or something." Tommy shook his head, laughing under his breath. "At least you can handle it." Merton shrugged, starting to eat.

Tommy waited a moment. "So, uh.. What'd you guys get up to last night?" Merton looked down and tried not to choke as he recalled how hot and heavy he and Tommy's cousin had been getting. "Oh, um… You know. The… usual." He cleared his throat. "How 'bout you?" "W-well, Joelle asked me to go over to her place… and uh… y'know…" Merton looked up at Tommy with a raised brow. "And… what happened?" "We um… you know." Tommy tilted his head pointedly. Merton's eyes bugged out. "Seriously?" He leaned in and spoke in a whisper. "Like all the way…?" Tommy nodded. "And no-" he pointed his fingers like perked ears. Tommy shrugged, nodding. "I was fine."

Merton stared at him with amazement for a moment, then blinked and shook himself back to reality. "You know, I have to be honest, Tom, for a while there I didn't think something like that would be possible." He took a bite of his lasagna. "I'll have to add it to my research." Tommy sighed and rolled his eyes. "Great." Merton gestured at Tommy emphatically. "One day, your experience and techniques could help lycanthropes the world over." Tommy tilted his head. "Sorry if I'm not exactly enthused about my sex life becoming an experiment." "At least you have a sex life. Every time it seems like we might-" "Merton!" Tommy hissed. "I don't wanna know that."

Merton pouted. "But you're my only male friend. I have no one else to talk to about this." "You don't have me to talk to about this." "But what's the point of having a popular guy friend if he won't give me pointers on how to get with the fairer sex?" Merton whined. "Help me. Help me." "Dude, she's my cousin. Would you want to know about your sister's…" It pained him to say it. "...sex life?" Merton sighed. "No." He pushed his food around with his fork, frowning. "I see your point."

"Besides, can't you just ask your internet buddies about that kind of thing?" Merton snorted. "Yeah, Tom. I'm sure they have a lot of experience that way." Tommy waved his hand dismissively. "Well find websites or something." "Tommy. Even assuming I hadn't turned off the adult content blockers my parents put in place - which I have - try to imagine the kind of search results I'd get if I put in something like that. Not exactly practical advice columns."

"Well, then I guess you'll just have to work it out with your girlfriend on your own." He looked up at Merton and relaxed his tense shoulders. "She likes you. I'm sure you can handle it." Merton smiled bashfully, feeling somewhat reassured despite Tommy's unease. "Yeah, I guess."

---

After school, Merton sat in the old teacher's lounge that had been converted into the school newspaper's office. Because of his position as Gothic Fantasy Guild President, he'd been asked to do an interview as part of the Grad Class segment. The editor, Kerry - a fellow senior with box braids pulled into a bun - tapped her clipboard with her pen.

"Okay, so that covers your academic and club activities, what about social?" Merton made a small sound, immediately realizing that he probably shouldn't mention fighting monsters. "Um, what do you want to know?" She leaned forward with a conspiratorial smirk. "What do you get up to on the weekends?" "Usual stuff. Hanging out with friends at the Factory, or my place. Sometimes we drive up the mountain."

"Do you mostly hang out with Guild members, or-?" "Oh, no, not really. I mean, we have our meetings, but…" "So who would you say is your best friend?" "Oh, uh, I guess Tommy." Merton smiled, thinking of his friend. "Tommy Dawkins. And, uh, Kali, I guess." "Tommy Dawkins, as in the captain of the football team? And his cousin Kalida Dawkins?" "Yeah." Merton fidgeted. The way her pen scratched against the paper put him on edge.

"Have you been friends since you were younger..?" "No, actually. Pretty much since the beginning of this school year." "How did you meet?" "W-well, Tommy and I had met before… We've had lockers next to each other since kindergarten," Merton laughed nervously. "But he struck up a conversation one day because he needed help with something, and we ended up hanging out a lot, I guess."

She uncrossed and recrossed her legs, scribbling on her notepad. "I think our readers might be surprised to hear that the quintessential goth and the quintessential jock are B-F-F's." She looked up at him with a piercing gaze. "What kind of stuff do you have in common?" Merton rubbed the back of his neck. "I think the strength of our relationship is actually that we can share our different interests with each other. He knows about stuff I don't, and vice versa. But… I really would rather the article focus more on my other interests-" "Of course, of course." She gestured dismissively. She jotted a few more notes, then looked up at Merton and glanced at the clock. "Well, I think I have what I need for the article. Should look great in your college applications."

Merton let out a small laugh in relief. "Oh, good. I have a few left to send out." "Why don't I see you out?" Merton made a face. "To.. the.. door right over there…?" He stood up and motioned to the door to the hallway. She placed the clipboard face-down on the desk. "I try to practice professional courtesy." She stood and led him to the doorway. "Thanks for coming by." She held her hand out to shake his. Merton nodded. "Yeah, thanks for doing a story on me, I guess."

"Of course. Sorry it's taken so long to get to yours. I'm part of the prom committee this year, and it's been eating up a lot of time." Merton rubbed his chin. "Oh, I guess that's coming up." Kerry leaned against the door frame. "Yeah, pretty soon. Have you already asked that special someone…?" "W-well, not yet-" She raised a brow. "But there's someone you have in mind?" "Well, uh- there's someone I've kind of been seeing, but-" "Dawkins, right?" "W-well, off the record, yes, but I don't know if it's presumptuous to think-" She held her hand up. "Say no more. Thanks for the interview." She shut the door in his face.

Merton blinked in confusion, then shook his head.

"Excuse me." Merton turned to see a frowning student standing, arms crossed, beside the door. He tapped his foot impatiently. "You're in the way. As usual." Merton smirked. "Ah, Fielding. Good to see you too. Sorry I couldn't let you have our final Quizbowl trophy, but you know how it is." Fielding raised a brow. "As if I would still care about that." Merton gestured at the door with his thumb and struck a pose. "Here to tell the editor how great I am for my upcoming Grad feature?" "Highly improbable." Fielding snapped. He held up an envelope. "I'm here to drop off my team's registration for the Pleasantville High Paintball War. Obviously."

"Paintball," Merton laughed incredulously. "Didn't think you had it in you. I thought nerds liked to stay away from the day star." "And I thought goths were too busy painting their nails to bother with the school paper." Merton glanced down at his black varnish. "Doesn't take that long, actually." "War is about strategy, not brute strength. In any event, the winning team gets $500. Now if you'll excuse me, today is the deadline to put in applications-" Fielding moved to push open the door. "Five hundred dollars!?"

---

"Paintball?" Tommy snorted. "I didn't think that sort of thing interested you." He shut his locker, brow raised. Merton held up a poster for the Paintball War. "There's a cash prize." Tommy squinted at Merton untrustingly. "Why are you really entering?" Merton rolled his eyes. "Is it that unbelievable that I'd want to run around in a giant maze getting shot at for fun?" He waited a beat and deadpanned. "Fielding kind of taunted me into signing up."

Tommy laughed. "So you just put me down as a team member without asking first?" "W-well I would have asked, but the deadline was yesterday and I had to name my teammate, so I thought… who do I know that's most likely to say yes? My best friend, mayhaps?" He batted his lashes. Tommy rolled his eyes, then put his hand on Merton's shoulder and leaned in close. "Okay, I'll do it. But you owe me." Merton put his hand on his heart. "I am your slave."

"Morning Tommy." A girl walked by, greeting Tommy shyly. He recognized her as one of the cheerleaders. He forced a quick smile. "Hey." She looked between the two and trying to hide a smile, and kept walking. Merton raised a brow. "Was that weird?" Tommy shrugged. "Cheerleaders say hi to me all the time." "No, I mean… nevermind." Merton shook his head and forced a grin. "Thanks for being on board." "Ah," Tommy waved dismissively. "I'm sure it'll be fun."

---

On his way to first period, Tommy noticed more eyes on him than usual. He smiled and nodded at a few girls. Guess I've still got it. Turning down the hall he was flagged down by Brett Johnson

"Hey, Tom," Brett nodded and waved him over, closing the combination lock on his locker. Tommy slowed to a stop in the hallway, adjusting his backpack. "Hey Brett. What's up, man?"

Brett put his hand on Tommy's shoulder, expression overly earnest. "I really admire your courage. It couldn't have been easy, all this time. This town is a bit slow to come around to these things, but having a leader like you live your truth openly-" Tommy put his hands up and let out a small laugh, shaking his head. "I don't follow." "I know I discouraged you earlier this year, but it means a lot-" "What are you talking about?" Brett hesitated, then pulled a copy of the school paper from his bag and handed it to Tommy. "Do your parents know?"

Tommy took the paper and unfolded it, revealing a photo of Merton kissing Tommy's cheek at the QuizBowl. "Star-crossed lovers in the halls of Pleasantville High?! Who knew the football captain had a thing for crypt keepers?" He gave Brett an incredulous look. "They think I'm dating Merton?" "Are you… not?" Tommy let out a whine as he ran for the bathroom, his hands starting to turn to clawed paws.

---

Merton winced at the front page of the paper gripped tightly in his hands. "Holy mother of misprints!"

---

Tommy dried his face with paper towel and took a long look in the bathroom mirror. Rounded ears, clear brown eyes. No extra facial hair.

Just stay calm.

He had read through the article in the bathroom stall while wolfed out. Despite the headline, it was mostly about Merton - his hobbies and extracurriculars - with a paragraph at the end mentioning how he and Tommy had become friends and that Merton had confirmed that they were more than just friends.

While his first impulse was to blame Merton, he just couldn't believe there was a reason he'd lie about something like that, especially since he'd just started dating Kalida. If anything, Merton was more likely to overstate his prowess with the ladies. Besides, Brett was right, there weren't exactly a lot of guys "out" in Pleasantville.

Tommy rubbed his hands over his face. He'd have to ask Merton what had happened.

---

Between first and second period, Kalida stood beside her locker, skin humming with anger. Her fingers dug into her shoulder strap as she mulled over what she should do next.

Sprayed across Tommy and Merton's lockers in black paint was the word FAGS.

Merton came up from behind her and put a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, Kal, I don't know if you've seen the paper yet, but-" She snapped back to reality and gave a small nod. "Y-yeah, I did." Merton nodded, pushing his hands into his pockets. "It's not true, obviously." She let out a hollow laugh. "Duh." She nodded at the graffiti. "Looks like some people bought it, though." Merton rolled his eyes at it. "Troglodytes."

"Doesn't it make you mad?" "I've had worse messages left for me." Kalida frowned. "Like what?" Merton shrugged, glancing to the side. "Doesn't matter. I'm more worried about Tommy right now."

Kalida sighed, shifting her weight to her other leg. "Right." Tommy was probably getting harassed about the article too. "Do you think he'd freak out?" Merton shrugged. "I don't know. If he's upset enough he might go home, to avoid… you know." "Y-yeah." Kalida nodded, hoping Tommy wasn't in any kind of trouble. "The paper can't just… print lies like that, can they?"

Merton winced. "I think she might have just gotten confused? Thinking back on it, she asked if I was dating Dawkins, and I thought she meant you…" Kalida's mouth fell open a moment. "Oh, are we… public, then?" "I-w-uh, I just.." Merton gestured vaguely. "She asked, and I told her it was off the record, but… we are dating, right? So..." "Y-yeah, we are. I just... Didn't know if you wanted to tell people…" She rubbed her arm. "Still, though. Even if you were dating Tommy, outing someone in the paper by surprise is irresponsible. Especially here." She gestured at the slur on the lockers. "And especially if you said it was off the record."

Merton nodded, sighing. "Yeah, I'll talk to Kerry. She should be in the office at lunch period." "Are you going to get her to print a retraction?" "I guess." He licked his lips. "Look, I don't want to put you on the spot, and I get it if you don't want the whole school to know that you're my- that is, I hope I can call you my…" He winced. "Girlfriend?"

Kalida could feel the colour rising in her cheeks and tried to hide the smile tugging at her lips. "Uh, yeah, I… I wouldn't mind." She shifted her weight to her other foot. "I've never actually been someone's girlfriend before. Officially."

Merton looked her over, happy but confused once again that she seemed genuinely as interested in him as he was in her. "Officially, yeah. As soon as I update the press," he forced a laugh. Kalida smirked. "As long as you're not planning to ditch me for my cousin when I'm not looking." Merton stroked his chin, narrowing his eyes at her. "Depends. Do you have any cute female cousins?" She smacked his chest, stifling a laugh. "Merton!"

Tommy strode up beside them, looking on edge. "I call dibs on hitting him next." Merton and Kalida both looked relieved to see him, calling out in unison, "Tommy!" Tommy held up Brett's copy of the paper. "What the heck, man?" Merton grimaced. "I'm sorry. She didn't tell me she was printing that." "Yeah, well, I'd like to give her a piece of my mind right about now." Merton put his hands up. "No, wait. Let me handle this, please. I'm the one that didn't insist on approving a draft before it went to print…." Kalida scoffed, rolling her eyes.

"And it really helps to have a sympathetic ear for Gothic Fantasy Guild issues," Merton continued. Tommy pursed his lips, mulling it over. "Fine. But there'd better be a correction or whatever. I don't want to get the talk from coach about making the other guys feel weird in the locker room." Merton nodded. "I'll make sure of it. Goth's honour." Tommy looked over at the graffiti. "Alright. I'll let the office know about our lockers." Kalida put her hand on Tommy's arm. "I'll help you scrub it off at lunch if you want." Tommy forced a small smile. "Thanks, Kal."

---

Hugo held his chin up as he watched the paintball tournament volunteers in the smaller field on campus. Teenagers and adults were working together to set up temporary walls and obstacles for the contestants to navigate the next day.

He walked into the maze, inspecting the well used equipment, noting the splats of bright color that speckled its surfaces. A dark shadow slunk behind him on the ground.

"Crazy kids and their war games. Real war isn't pink and yellow." He took a deep breath, his nostrils flaring as he stared into space. "It changes a man. That's what mother said." The shadow rose from the ground and overcame him. He closed his eyes, then rolled his shoulders. When he opened them again, a dark smile crept across his face.

---

Merton cleared his throat loudly as Kerry unlocked the door to the office. She winced, then forced a cheery smile. "Oh, hello again Mr. Dingle." He held up the paper. "Not the right Dawkins."

She opened the door and stepped into her office, feigning a light-hearted surprise. "Really? Simple mistake." Merton shut the door as he followed her inside. "Yeah, the tone isn't exactly selling it. Besides, I said it was off the record anyway." He gestured empathically. "Where is your journalistic integrity?"

Kerry shrugged, turning toward him as she sat on the edge of her desk. "I just… misunderstood I guess. Sorry." Merton lowered his eyebrows, frowning. He didn't believe her, but also he didn't understand why she'd print something so false. "Well, Tommy's pretty upset and wanted to come in here and give you a piece of his mind, but I thought you'd prefer discussing it with me." Kerry's shoulders tensed as he mentioned Tommy being upset. "Well, I appreciate you coming to see me alone." She leaned toward him, angling her neck. "Was your girlfriend upset?" "She wasn't thrilled to have FAGS spray painted over my locker." "Oh, I hope it didn't start a fight between you." She put her thumb in her mouth and batted her lashes a few times.

Merton raised a brow at Kerry's behaviour. Was she… flirting? "It wasn't me she was upset with…?" Merton squinted at her, folding his arms. "Kerry, did you deliberately print a story about me being gay? To… to break up Kali and I?" She let out an awkward laugh. "Ha, what? No…" Merton blinked in shock. If he'd been single, someone like Kerry hitting on him would have been a pleasant surprise. Instead he felt irritated. "Look, I'm flattered, but-"

Kerry threw her hands up. "Oh my god, please don't." "It's just I've been seeing Kalida-" "No, I get it. I'm sorry. It was ridiculous, I know. I just have a thing for goth guys, and I'm the only one on the prom committee who doesn't have a date yet." She looked away. "It's pathetic."

Merton uncrossed his arms. "Well I don't… think you're pathetic. You're a talented writer, and you've done more for the school than most of the student council members have." He rubbed the back of his neck. "If you'd shown an interest last year, or even a few months ago…" Kerry shot him a look. "Oh, because you and the new girl in town are super serious now? The person you weren't sure you should ask to prom?" "W-well, we're not… not serious." "Do you think you'll last past graduation? Are you even going to the same college?"

Merton pulled a face. "It's really none of your business. And you need to do a reprint retracting your intentional misinformation before the mayor gets your paper shut down." Merton may have been overreaching bringing Bob Dawkins into it, but he didn't like the way she'd gotten snippy. Kerry pursed her lips and looked away, crossing her arms. "Fine." "Fine."

---

Tommy felt the tension as he entered the locker room. All eyes were on him, but he pretended not to notice as he got ready for practice. When he was finishing up, he finally addressed the team.

"There something you want to say?" Most of them shuffled around avoiding eye contact, but one of the linebackers crossed his arms. "I don't want you staring at my hiney during practice." This elicited a few snickers from the group.

Tommy nodded, looking around. "Ah, so it's about the paper. Let's get a couple things straight-" A few more loud snickers echoed in the large room.

"First, I'm not gay. Second, I'm definitely not dating Merton. Third," He looked around the room. "One of our teammates might be in the closet. But we're here to play football, so unless someone starts hitting on you, it's a non-starter." He waited a beat. "Got it?" The linebacker shrugged. "Why'd the paper print that, then?" "I dunno." Tommy threw his hands up. "Merton's dating my cousin Kali and I guess the writer chick misunderstood. What do ya want from me?"

One teammate gave Tommy a pat on the shoulder. "We just wanted to know if you were taking Merton to prom, Tom," he joked. Tommy rolled his eyes but smiled. He pulled the team in for a pre-practice huddle, and things seemed to go back to normal.

---

Kalida sipped at her cola, watching as Merton took their fast food dinner out of the bag. They'd popped by the Hungry Bucket before retiring to the Lair for a night of hanging out and - hopefully - homework. She put her soda on the coffee table and grabbed her fries, relaxing against him on the sofa. "I can't believe you're doing that paintball thing."

"What's so hard to believe? I fight monsters every week. What's a few jocks with guns?" Merton wheezed. Kalida laughed. "I didn't mean to imply that you couldn't handle it. I just thought you were more of a…" "A what?" He felt his shoulders tensing up. Did she think he was a wimp? "A person who avoided unnecessary violence?" She shrugged. "It's not violence… It's… sport." She laughed. "I like how you choked on the word sport."

"Can goths be jocks?" "I don't think you should worry about labels. I think you should be worried about what clothes you're going to destroy with paintball paint." Merton groaned. He hadn't thought of that. "I guess I'll go shopping." "Also like, I'm pretty sure it leaves bruises?" "As opposed to all the pummeling I get hunting monsters which never leave any marks."

Kalida ran a finger down his cheek. "You just have such nice pale skin. It's why you bruise so easy." He batted his lashes at her. "I can't help that I'm so beautiful." They ate in comfortable silence for a few minutes.

"So you haven't said much about the paper since earlier." "Hm?" Merton stopped chewing for a second, then quickly swallowed. "There's not much to say. She's going to issue a retraction." "Did she… apologize? Was it a misunderstanding? Was it for sales?" "The paper's actually free." "Not the point."

"Well she…" Merton sighed. He hadn't really wanted to get into it. He felt guilty somehow about the situation, even though he technically hadn't done anything wrong. "She didn't misunderstand. Exactly." Kalida eyed him suspiciously as she opened her nugget box. "So, what, you are dating Tommy?" "Uh, no, I-" Merton shook his head, then looked away. "She… kind of purposely misinterpreted what I said in hopes it would… cause problems. For us."

The way he was avoiding eye contact made Kalida nervous. "Why would she do that?" "She um… I guess she wanted to ask me to prom." He cleared his throat nervously. "Oh." Kalida ate a few fries as an awkward silence fell between them. "I assume you said no?" Merton looked over at her with wide eyes. "Oh! Yeah! I did."

They stared at each other a moment. Merton licked his lips. "I… I was hoping that I could take you. To prom. If you wanted." Kalida laughed. "Yeah." She leaned into him, pressing her head against his shoulder. "I kind of assumed you'd take your girlfriend to prom." Merton smiled happily to himself. "Well… yeah, ideally." He wrapped an arm around her. "I had planned to ask you in a more flashy way. Not over fast food in the basement." Kalida laughed. "It's not like you're asking me to marry you." Merton smirked. "Oh, so this wouldn't work if it was a marriage proposal? You wouldn't fawn over an onion ring engagement?"

She shrugged, and her voice got quiet. "I dunno. That kind of stuff doesn't really matter to me anyway." "Prom? Marriage? Flashy proposals?" "Flashy anything in a relationship. It's… nice?" Kalida continued eating. "But it doesn't mean you like each other more, or you're gonna be together for a long time because of it." Merton hummed, nodding. "I see what you're saying." He looked over at her, wondering if they'd be together 'for a long time' or not.

She took a big gulp of her soda. "Oh! So what color dress should I get for prom, then? My parents are coming to town soon to take me dress shopping." Merton blinked. "I… hadn't really thought that far. I suppose I'm mostly a black and red man, myself." She smiled. "Yeah, I guess you are. Alright." She nodded. "Black and red. To match." He shrugged. "Wear whatever you like. I'll just be happy to be there with you." "No, we have to match!" She threw a fry at him.

Eventually Kalida finished her nuggets and tossed the empty box back into the takeout bag. "You think Tommy's gonna pass his bio final? He hasn't been studying as much with us since he met that Joelle chick." Merton shrugged. "I'm sure he'll figure it out. He'll probably continue to neglect his studies until finals week, and then get mad at us while we help him cram." She laughed. "Yeah, you're probably right. But what would he do without us, hm?" She grinned at Merton and they shared a laugh.

---

Tommy grabbed his duffel bag from the jeep and slung it over his shoulder on his way up the driveway. Practice had been awkward, and he wasn't sure that the coach was entirely convinced that he was straight. He wanted to be mad at Merton about all of it - he was usually the one who started these sorts of problems in his life - but knew it wasn't really the pale kid's fault.

"Just another hurdle." He pushed open the door to find his parents sitting in the living room looking tense. Dean was suspiciously absent.

Sally forced an anemic smile. "Welcome home, honey." Tommy felt a strange pit form in his stomach as he slowly put down his bag. "Uh, hey mom. What's going on?" He noted the way his mom's fingers were laced between his dad's. Bob cleared his throat. "Son, some news came to my office today." Tommy sat down on the couch, in the seat furthest from his parents. "Okay?"

Sally held up the school paper from earlier. Tommy felt the color drain from his face. My parents seriously think I'm dating Merton?

"Mom-" "Now, Tommy, you know we love and support you no matter what." "Mom, no, you've got it wrong-" "I thought it was a little strange that you made such an interesting friend this year," Bob remarked. "Dad-" "Bob, remember, supportive." Tommy threw his hands up in desperation. "I'm not gay!" "Oh, honey. You don't have to lie to us."

He could feel his hands starting to shift into claws. "I'm not lying." He took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Besides, Merton has a girlfriend. The interviewer misunderstood something he said. That's all." Bob narrowed his eyes. "So you're… into girls?" Tommy let out a sigh of frustration. "For the millionth time today, yes." Bob let out a sigh of relief, leaning back into the sofa.

Sally leaned toward her son. "You haven't brought anyone home since that Lori, and I know you were upset when Stacey left town-" "Mom!" "Well, Thomas, you know, it's natural for parents to be curious what their children are up to." "And prom is coming up." Sally enthused.

Tommy looked down, thinking of Joelle. Did he want to talk about her? "I'm… I'm kind of seeing someone right now. I don't know. It might not be serious." "Oh, okay. Um, what are they like?" "She works for the Hungry Bucket." He rubbed the back of his neck. "And…?"

Tommy thought about how to describe Joelle. I can't believe I have to talk about this. Kill me. "She's um, cool, I guess. We hang out and play video games and stuff."

"You should bring her by the house sometime," Sally suggested. "I'll think about it. Anyway, I'm bushed from practice and I kind of wanted to take a shower before dinner."

His parents nodded, looking somewhat guiltily relieved. He headed upstairs and prayed that was the last of the awkward conversations about his sex life.

---

Tommy sat at the bar in The Factory, tapping his foot erratically. He had been having a pretty crappy day - with all the accusations - and he could feel eyes on him as he waited for Joelle to arrive. She'd worked an early shift, so she was coming from home tonight.

She snuck up behind him and flopped onto the seat next to his. "Hey stranger." He felt his face light up at the sight of her, and she laughed at his goofy grin. "Hey." "You that happy to see me, cornbread?" "It's been quite a day." "Yeah, I bet. Coming out of the closet is never easy."

His face fell. "Not you too." She laughed. "Relax. I think you proved last night that you have other interests." "How did you even find out about that story? You don't go to our school." "Someone brought it in at work because they knew we were seeing each other. Apparently the retraction is already posted outside the paper office, they just wanted to razz me."

"Sorry. Being friends with Merton is… an adventure." Tommy sighed. Joelle smirked. "Well. Nevermind that." She hopped off the stool and stood behind him. She smoothed her small, warm hand over his shoulders and started kneading. "You should just relax, forget all your worries…" Tommy let out a small, pleased groan. She wrapped her arms around his back and leaned into him. "And dance with me." He let out a snicker, but did as he was told and followed her onto the dance floor.

---

Tommy rolled his shoulders and hopped in spot while he waited for Kalida to come outside. Merton had come with the hearse to pick them up for the paintball tourney. He was dressed in a pair of old, grease-stained jeans and a yellow and black raglan shirt. He put his hands in his pockets as Merton got out and joined him on the driveway.

"You ready for this?" Merton shrugged. "Ready as I'll ever be." He was dressed in black from head to toe, but it was all cheap throw-away clothing that he'd bought at a chain store in the town down the highway. He'd sewn a crest of Mertonia on the back of the shirt. "As long as we beat Fielding, I'm happy." Tommy laughed. "I want the money."

Merton looked up to the house, fixing his hair spikes absentmindedly. "Where's Kali?" "She'll be out in a sec. She was getting dressed up in our team colors." He motioned to his black and yellow shirt. Merton grinned. "Aww. She's such a trooper." Tommy laughed. "I'm sure she's just trying to get points with her boyfriend." Merton rubbed the back of his neck. "Uhh, yeah." "She told me you asked her to be your girlfriend." "Yeah, I did." "I'm happy for you, man." He patted Merton's head, putting on a high pitched voice. "You two are so cute." Merton batted his hands away, and furiously set to making sure his hair was okay.

"I asked her to prom, too." "So I heard, stud." "You gonna take Joelle?" "Maybe. I dunno. She's not going to high school anymore, she might think it's… kid stuff." "Ah yes, the juvenile activities of people our age."

"You guys ready to go?" Kalida skipped down the front steps in black jeans and a yellow tshirt. Her hair was up in high pigtails, tied with long black and yellow ribbons. Merton looked her over and tried not to feel too excited about it. Tommy shook his head. "We've been waiting for you!" "I'm perfectly on time. Merton just got here early." She stopped in front of Merton and did a little twirl. "What do you think? Am I doing Mertonia proud?"

Merton smiled. "You can be the official cheerleader." "Ah, the king's approval. Excellent." He motioned to the hearse. "Shall we?"

They piled in and headed for the school.

---

When they arrived, the three of them headed for the back of the campus. The paintball course had been set up on the football field, and there was a surprisingly large crowd forming.

"Merton!" Margaret waved frantically, set up on the lowest bleacher row with a standing banner of the Mertonia crest. She was dressed in a black and yellow striped dress with an underbust corset. Her red hair was braided with black and yellow ribbons and she had literal pompoms in the right colors.

"I think I lost that official cheerleader status," Kalida murmured. Tommy snickered under his breath.

They headed over and Margaret ran up and hugged Merton, almost knocking him over. "Good luck, Merton!" Merton carefully removed her from him. "Thanks Margaret." He examined the banner. "You did a great job with this. I might have to commission one for the lair. "I would totally make you one!" Margaret stared up at him with starry eyes until she noticed Tommy and Kalida. "Oh, hey Tommy." She sneered slightly at Kalida. "Tommy's cousin." Kali rolled her eyes. "Yeah, hey."

Tommy motioned to the registration table. "Merton, we should sign in and get our equipment." Merton nodded. "Oh, right. Okay, well, see you girls later." He waved to Margaret and Kalida. Kalida smiled at her boyfriend and her cousin as they walked off together. "Good luck! Don't get hurt!" Margaret cheered loudly, attracting the attention of everyone nearby. "GO MERTON! DEFEND MERTONIA'S HONOUR!"

Kalida saw the laugh Tommy tried to hide, noticing the way his back shook as Merton shrank beside him, pinching the bridge of his nose. Once they were alone, Margaret and Kalida looked at each other. Margaret sneered again and took her seat, pointedly ignoring her.

Kalida sighed. I guess someone's jealous… She looked around the crowd on the bleachers and spotted some of Tommy's teammates that had been at the house party. She waved and smiled and was pleased to have them motion for her to come sit with them. She skipped up the steps and tried not to look like she was bothered by Margaret's rude behaviour.

---

Timothy Eckert smacked his brother's chest. "Trav, look! It's the nancy boys." T&T snickered at each other, approaching Tommy and Merton, who were standing near the entrance to the arena.

Merton rolled his eyes. "The one time you two read a newspaper." Travis puffed his chest up. "What's that, Dingle?" Tommy put his hand up, exasperated. "Lay off." "Or what? You and your boyfriend will cry about it?" T&T mimed crying at each other.

"We're not gay," Merton sighed. He had had to explain himself so many times in the last 36 hours that he was actually bored of repeating it. "Not what the paper said," Tim laughed.

Tommy felt a growl rising in his throat. Travis put on a voice. "Don't they make such a cute couple?" "And what if we were?" Tommy raised his paintball gun and pointed it at Tim's face. "You wanna fight about it?" Travis put his hands up and took a step back. "Whoa, easy Dawkins. I didn't mean nothin'." "Then shut your big mouth. And while you're at it, you can leave Merton alone from now on."

Tim looked over at Merton. "Aw, Dingle doesn't mind us palling around. Do you, Dingle?" Merton pursed his lips and avoided eye contact, feeling tense. Typically confronting bullies didn't help the situation. "I mind." Tommy growled. Tim and Travis both swallowed and took another step back. "Got it, bro. We'll play nice with the Dingle." "Yeah. We'll be buds."

Tommy continued to stare the two bigger guys down until they walked away. Merton sighed. "Way to sell that whole, we're-just-friends angle." "Whatever, man." Tommy adjusted his gun. "I'm just sick of seeing you let people walk all over you."

Merton made a face. "Right. I bring it on myself. Hero complex with a side of victim blaming. Good look." "Hey, I was sticking up for you. You're welcome." "Thanks. I really appreciated the part where I didn't ask you to." Merton rolled his shoulders, then lowered his voice. "I know you can't relate, but past experience suggests they're just going to harass me even more now. They'll just do it when you're not around." Tommy's frown deepened. "We'll see." "Anyway, let's get ready."

They helped each other into the protective vests, helmets, and goggles that had been provided, and Tommy showed Merton how to use the paintball gun. They waited in the starting area for the buzzer that signified the beginning of the match.

---

Kalida sat with the football players and watched as the teams moved into the playfield. Clouds of dry ice fog moved out from certain spots, obscuring the view to various degrees, but it was interesting to have a mostly-aerial view of area.

The guy beside her nudged her arm and pointed out a team that was trying to sneak toward the center as another came up behind them. "Check it, the nerds are gonna rock those guys." He took a handful of popcorn and angled his bag toward her, raising a brow. "Thanks." She took a small handful for herself and scanned the field for Merton. "Who are you rooting for?" "Gotta root for Dawkins, right? That's our boy." Kalida smiled, feeling chuffed by the camaraderie. "Right."

---

Hugo came up behind a paintball participant who was hiding in a foggy area and tapped him on the shoulder.

The student was surprised, but relaxed when he recognized the creepy security guard. He took off his helmet. "What's going on?"

Hugo bonked the student over the head with a clenched fist, knocking him to the ground. He took the boy's gun and smirked as the dry ice concealed his movements.

---

Merton hid behind a wide column that had been set up as paint splattered against the wall beside him. Tommy motioned for him to follow, and the two ran to an empty area of the battlefield. Dry ice was placed around the field periodically to limit visibility.

"Okay, let's get away from this group. Let them shoot each other up while we find high ground." Merton nodded. "I saw some big step things in the far end when we were dodging T&T." "Great, let's go."

They snuck around the battlefield a while and found the stairs guarded by a lone person.

"Where's their partner?" Merton whispered. "Hiding behind that pillar there." He motioned with his gun. "You get the guy up top, I'll hang back and get the hiding one." "Okay, let's go."

---

Merton followed Tommy deeper into the paintball battlefield. He coughed as the thick fog engulfed them. "They went a little thick on the dry ice over here."

Tommy nodded, looking around. He leaned in close to Merton, speaking quietly. "I can't even see the bleachers from here. There might be people hiding in here. Let's keep it down." "Yeah, I'll try not to asphyxiate too loudly, Tom."

Still, Merton pressed on quietly and carefully with Tommy. They turned a corner and came across Tim and Travis lying unconscious on the ground below the fog.

Tommy looked around frantically, waving his gun. "What the hell, man?" "Maybe their brains finally stopped being able to process the basic functions of living." Merton laughed to himself, then crouched down and checked the necks for pulses. "They're alive. But we should probably alert the officials."

"That won't be necessary, lads." Merton and Tommy swung around to see Hugo standing before them, pointing a paintball gun menacingly in their direction. A helmet sat loosely on top of his head, and his eyes flashed an eerie blue. "Best surrender now."

Tommy blasted Hugo with several paintballs, the ink seeping into his security uniform. Merton snickered. "Guess you're out." Hugo smirked and returned the favour, covering the two in multicolored paint. Tommy gaped. "What the hell!?" "Not really keeping with the spirit of the game, Hugo!" "War is no game." Hugo's eyes flashed blue again and Tommy smacked Merton's chest, gesturing for him to notice. Merton raised his gun defensively, wondering just what had gotten into the unhinged school watchman.

"Can't have any survivors," he continued, stepping toward them.

---

Kalida frowned as she continued to look for a trace of Merton and Tommy. They'd disappeared into one of the clouds of fog and hadn't surfaced again yet.

She looked down the stands to see that Becky and Meghan had approached Margaret where she was sitting alone. She couldn't make out what was being said, but from Becky's body language and facial expressions, it didn't seem friendly. Even though Margaret wasn't exactly a friend of hers, she knew that Merton would be bothered to hear that Becky was harassing the other young girl.

She leaned toward Tommy's teammate and touched his arm. "I'm gonna go get a drink. Be right back." He flashed her a wide grin. "I'll save your seat."

She made her way down the bleachers and toward the group, pretending to notice Becky when she got to the bottom. She forced a bright smile and skipped over. "Oh, hey Becky!" Becky and her friend were startled by the sudden appearance of their upperclassman. Becky tucked some hair behind her ear. "Oh, hey Kalida." "It was great having you at our party. You should bring your friends next time." Meghan's eyes widened. "Seriously?" Kalida grinned. "Of course. Any friend of Dingle's is welcome at a Dawkins party."

Becky fidgeted a bit, looking around to see some of the football players glancing their way. "Oh, um, okay. Thanks." "Yeah, no prob." Kalida held a closed fist up toward Becky. Becky blinked in confusion. Kalida's smile faltered, hand still extended. "Pound it." "What?" Becky held her balled hand up in confusion. "Like this?"

Kalida sighed and touched her fist against the younger girl's. "Maybe it's a Canadian thing." Becky's cheeks flushed and she pulled her hand back, tucking more hair behind her ear. "W-well, um, see you later." "Yeah, later."

Kalida watched as Becky and her friend walked off, whispering excitedly to each other. She turned to Margaret, who was leveling a death glare at her. "Hey." "If you think that sucking up to Becky is going to make Merton like you, you're wrong." Margaret spat back. "Okay." Kalida nodded slowly and rolled her eyes. "I was actually thinking maybe she was bothering you, so I'd intervene." Kalida turned to leave.

"Why do you even care?"

She stopped and looked back at Margaret, then shrugged her shoulders. "I shouldn't, clearly, since you've literally been nothing but rude to me since the day we met. But Merton cares about you, and I know it would bother him to see Becky harassing you." Margaret sneered. "So you're just trying to win brownie points?" Kalida let out a groan. "Last I checked I didn't need to trick my boyfriend into liking me. Did it ever occur to you that Merton being upset would upset me?"

Margaret stared back at her with a confounded expression. Kalida sighed and rolled her eyes, turning to leave again as the younger girl mumbled in shock. "He's your boyfriend?"

She glanced back at Margaret, realizing Merton hadn't told her they were dating. Before she could question Margaret's feelings on the matter, a howling in the distance caught her attention.

---

Tommy dodged a blow from Hugo and rolled away. He had wolfed out, and was trying not to get knocked out while Merton struggled to come up with a way to get whatever had possessed Hugo to no longer do so.

"It could be any kind of non-corporeal entity!" Merton called through the fog. "Try to knock him out, maybe it will leave his body!" "A little help?" Tommy called in the direction of Merton's voice. He was met with a spray of paint balls, most of which hit Tommy's back. "Not helpful!"

---

Kalida wrung her hands, back in her seat and watching the paintball match below, desperately looking for Tommy or Merton in the mess of obstacles and fog. Most of the teams had already been hit and left the field, but there was skirmish in the northeast corner that had most of the crowd's attention. She was sure that she'd heard Tommy howl, but there was no way for her to enter the arena without being noticed.

The football player beside her put his arm around her shoulders. "Relax, Dawkins. I'm sure Tommy's fine in there." "Mm, yeah, probably." She squirmed out of his grip and he shrugged it off. "It's just we can't see what's going on over there." "Yeah but they haven't come out yet, either, so they're still in the game, right?" He winked at her. She forced a small smile. "Yeah, I guess so."

She sighed and focused back on the field. I just hope you're okay. Don't do anything stupid.

---

"I can't believe that worked!" Tommy fell to the ground and let out a huge sigh as his wolf features receded. "I am a genius!" Merton proclaimed, standing over Hugo's unconscious body. He put a hand out to help Tommy up off the ground. "Come on, let's get out of here before Hugo wonders how he got into the paintball tournament." "Good call."

As Merton and Tommy made their way out of the fog and toward the exit, Tommy suddenly smacked Merton's chest. Merton pursed his lips, but continued walking. "Hey, so you know Trevor from the movie store?" Merton raised a brow. "Yeah?" "I forgot to tell you, but his girlfriend told me that someone's been following him. Asked if there was anything weird happening."

Merton furrowed his brow. "Does he know who's following him?" "Apparently not." "Huh. Should we do another stake out?" Merton waggled his eyebrows at his pun.

Tommy rolled his eyes. "I mean, maybe? What kind of person stalks a-" he lowered his voice to a whisper, "vampire?" "Could be another vampire? A hunter?" Merton shrugged. "Maybe someone who watches a little too much Buffy and thinks Angel is dreamy?" Tommy smacked Merton's chest again. "Hey." "If it's a hunter, they might be hunting werewolves next." "Tommy, what are the chances of another hunter coming to town? The three of us have this in the bag."

---

Kalida met Tommy and Merton at the bottom of the bleachers.

"Oh, wow, you guys got annihilated." Merton scowled. "It was hardly sporting." "I could have sworn I heard howling…?" "We'll tell you about it later," Tommy nodded. "Well I guess you're not getting the prize money."

Merton perked up. "Did Fielding leave yet? I wanted to outlast him at least." Kalida shrugged. "Who's Fielding?"

Margaret ran up from behind them and glomped Merton, almost knocking him over again. "You should have taken me into the fray with you, Merton! I would have kept you safe!" Tommy rolled his eyes and Kalida shifted uncomfortably as she watched Merton pry Margaret off of himself. "Now, now, Margaret. No need to overreact." Tommy tapped Merton's should and pointed at the bleachers. "Isn't that Fielding over there?" Merton smirked as he made eye contact with his Quiz Bowl nemesis. "So it is. I guess his strategy wasn't up to snuff after all."

A loud buzzer rang out over the field and one of the teachers came out with a microphone. "Okay, folks, we have our winning team!"

The group turned to look as Tim and Travis Eckert were handed a large, cheap-looking trophy. The brothers looked both surprised and pleased before shouting into the microphone "T'n'T rule!" Merton rolled his eyes. "Wow, they won by being unconscious on the ground." Margaret raised a brow. "What?" Merton quickly backpedalled. "Oh- nevermind. It was just an expression. Good for them I guess." Tommy snickered a bit as Kalida shook her head.

She leaned into Tommy, careful not to get any paint on herself. "I expect a full account of what happened in there." "I'm sure Merton's dying to brag about it."

---

Tags: @self-conscious-author

--

Chapter 15 here.

Chapters: 1&2, 3&4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

#big wolf on campus #big wolf on campus fanfic #big wolf #bwoc #bwoc fanfic #merton x oc #merton j dingle #merton dingle #tommy dawkins #tommy dawkins x oc

[blairsanne]

In the Cards (13)

Big Wolf on Campus fanfic. Merton x OC. [Tommy also gets some pairings.]

Chapter Summary: As Kalida ponders what to do after graduation, Tommy meets a new girl in town. A suspicious wind storm leads to power outages, and the trio face off against another monster.

Chapter 13: Breeze

Kalida shuffled her tarot cards, focusing her intent.

The inside of the camper was dim, lit only by the candle she had burning on the table, and the faint glow of sunlight hitting the curtains. She had stolen away to Betsy at lunch to meditate and clear her head, but the same recurring stream of thought kept interrupting her. What do you want, Kalida?

Tommy had raised some questions she'd been trying to avoid, about life after high school. Where was her place in the world? Which 'home' was really for her?

She drew the first card and reflected on it. "The six of cups. Nostalgia. Looking back on the good old days." She sighed. "Been doing a lot of that." She pictured her group of friends clearly; the sounds of their laughter, the way being around them made her feel. Is that just the past, now?

She drew the next card. "The four of cups. Apparently it's cups day." She mulled it over. This card is about counting your blessings and being grateful for what you have… not being sad over what you don't have. She drummed her fingers against the table. "Things really aren't so bad here, so why am I so uncertain?"

She pulled the final card and put the rest of the deck to the side.

"The nine of wands reminds us to take a deep breath and not let worrying overwhelm us. Take it one step at a time." She closed her eyes and tried to let that message sink in. "I need to be calm, and think carefully about what's got me so scared." She touched her fingers to her lips. Am I scared?

She frowned and took several slow, deep breaths. Guides, help me know myself and my path. She sat quietly in the dim camper and meditated on this.

Some time later, she was startled from her self-reflection by the school bell. She quickly extinguished the candle and tucked her supplies away. "Guess I'll worry about it later," she muttered, rushing out of the camper toward the school.

---

That night found the trio at their usual haunt. The Factory wasn't as busy as normal, but they had a local band playing live music on the stage.

Tommy drummed his fingers against the table. "Let's dance!" "Ooh, yes." Kalida hopped off her stool. "You coming, Merton?" Merton feigned hardship. "I guess so." He slid from his seat and let Kalida and Tommy pull him by each arm onto the dance floor.

"I think these guys go to our school," Kalida commented, bobbing along to the beat. Merton nodded. "Eric and Gary do, but Connor graduated last year." "Do you just know everyone?" "It's a small town." "Right."

She looked around to see that Tommy had wandered off to dance with a girl she didn't recognize. She leaned in toward Merton and pointed to her cousin's new dance partner. "So who's that, then?" Merton studied the petite brunette, rubbing his chin. "I… don't know, actually. Might be from out of town?" "Well she's pretty into Tommy," she laughed.

The mystery girl was running her hands up Tommy's torso as they danced, making him laugh. He took her hands in his and twirled her around once before releasing her. "My name's Tommy, by the way," he called over the music. "Joelle." "Are you new in town?" "Yeah," Joelle grinned. "Is it that obvious?" "I just feel like I'd have noticed you before." "Yeah, I bet." She hooked her fingers into his belt loops and bit her lip.

"You're pretty forward," he winced, trying not to let it get to him. "Don't act like you don't like it, pretty boy." "I'm just trying not to get too worked up," he said honestly. "Aww, that's no fun." She walked a circle around him. "Getting worked up is the first step to having a good time." "That's your way, I guess." "Oh, live a little." She pulled his hands down to her hips and swayed. "It's just a dance."

Merton couldn't help but glance over to Tommy and the mystery girl periodically as he danced with Kalida. "Hey, you already have a date. Hello?" Kalida poked his stomach, eliciting a giggle from Merton. "Sorry. I was just noticing that Tommy's been getting better at not, uh…" He made the now-ubiquitous ear gesture. "I was thinking that lately, too. He was able to calm himself down the other night in my room."

Merton raised a brow. "Beg pardon?" "Yeah. His eyes got yellow and everything, but he just focused on relaxing and he was fine." "What had him worked up?" "Oh!" She leaned forward, speaking fervently. "When I got home from our date, Uncle Bob had found out that one of us skipped school, and he went postal. But then Tommy took the blame and was really mad at his dad."

"Ahh." Merton nodded, looking somewhat relieved. She bugged her eyes. "What did you think had him worked up?" "I-I dunno, you said he was in your room-" "He's my cousin!" She smacked his chest. "Don't be gross!" He laughed and grabbed her hand. "Stop assaulting the King, that's heresy." "Oh, watch me." She used her free hand to poke him repeatedly. Merton laughed, squirming this way and that in response to her jabbing. "Keep this up and I'm going to have to get Margaret to behead you."

---

When the band finished their set, Tommy looked away from Joelle to see that Merton and Kalida had settled in at a table on the other end of the club. He put his hands in his pockets. "So, wanna grab a drink?" Joelle smirked up at him. "If you're buying, Tom." "Sure."

He led her over to the bar and placed their order, taking one of the many free seats. Joelle hopped up on the stool next to him. "So I take it you're a local? Born and raised?" He laughed. "Is it that obvious?" "Ehh, you've got the look." He sipped his cola. "What look is that?" She gestured. "You know, like, all American, captain of the football team, wholesome small town boy."

He laughed again. "Wow, well, I guess you've got me pegged, then. Starting quarterback, captain of the football team. My dad's the mayor, and my mom's the top local news anchor." She snorted. "Wow, I didn't think it was that bad." He mocked offense. "Hey now, be kind." She smirked and gave him a look over. "No, I think you can take a little punishment." She sipped her drink, looking him in the eye. "Captain."

He chuckled. "So, are you going to Pleasantville High, then?" "Oh, no, I finished my diploma at the end of last year." "Early graduation?" "What, you don't think I'm smart enough?" "That's not-" She put her hand on his forearm. "I'm just kidding. I hated high school, I just wanted it over already. I took a job at this chicken place in town to make ends meet-"

"The Hungry Bucket?" "Uh, yeah. Is that, like, the only chicken place in town?" "Actually, yes." She laughed, rolling her eyes. "Wow, okay."

"So what about your parents?" She gave him a weird look. "Yeah, I don't live with them." "Oh." He blinked. "Right, graduate." "I have my own place, up on third." "The big apartment building?" "The tiny apartment building, yeah." He laughed. "It's the biggest one in town." "Which isn't saying much, cornbread."

"Anyone ever tell you you're kind of salty for a girl?" "No, because then I'd have to kick their-" "Noted," he laughed.

---

Kalida came up behind Tommy at the bar. "Hey. Merton's gonna take me home. You staying?" The pale brunette he was with gave Kalida a lookover. Tommy clucked. "Um… I don't know. Joelle, you sticking around?" Joelle shrugged. "Sure." Tommy nodded. "Okay. I think I'll head home a little later."

Kalida nodded. "Okay. See you there later." She looked between the two of them. "Don't get into any trouble." Joelle laughed. "Well that's no fun." Tommy waved her off, then turned back to Joelle.

"So is that your sister or something?" "My cousin. How could you tell?" She shrugged. "She's got your eyes. Plus she said she'd see you at home later, and you don't seem like the type to have an open relationship." "Right." He rolled his eyes, but grinned. "Because you know me so well." "Like an open book."

The band started up another set. "Want to dance some more?"

---

When Tommy finally got home, it was past midnight. He snuck up the stairs as quietly as he could, grateful to hear both his parents' snores through their bedroom door as he crept past. When he reached the end of the hall, Kalida's door slowly creaked open. She stood in the doorway in pajamas and yawned.

"Hey, how was your date?" she whispered. He stepped into her room and grinned. She noted the way his hair was sticking up in unusual places. "It was pretty great," he whispered back. "She must have liked you." She reached up and smoothed his hair out. He looked away bashfully. "Yeah, she did."

Kalida giggled. "I didn't think she was your type." "What's my type?" Kalida scratched her forehead. "I guess I have no idea. I just assumed more wholesome cheerleader, and less edgy out-of-towner?" Tommy shrugged non-commitally and shifted his weight. "I guess not." "And you didn't wolf out?" "Not even an eye glow."

She nodded. "That's so nice, I'm happy for you." "Thanks." She yawned again. Tommy flashed her a soft smile. "You're tired. Go back to bed. We can talk in the morning." "Kay. Just wanted to check in." He patted her head. "Thanks." "Night Tommy." "Good night."

---

Tommy slid into his seat at their usual table in the cafeteria. Merton perked up. "Hey Don Juan." "Uh, hey." "Don Juan? Legendary fictional libertine?"

"What?" Merton rolled his eyes. "Nevermind. How did things go last night after we left?" "Really good." He grinned to himself. "I'm getting better at this whole being-around-girls thing." "Yeah? No sudden need to run away?" "It was almost like I was a normal person," Tommy agreed self-deprecatingly.

Merton grinned. "That's great! If you can get good enough at keeping the wolf at bay, you'll have a much easier time." "Yeah." "So what changed? What have you been doing differently?" "Well…" He leaned over and lowered his voice. "Actually, I've kinda been reading a book I took from Kali's room about meditation. Merton rolled his eyes. "I gave you a book on meditation last fall." "I know, but it seemed like a bunch of…" He cringed as he finished his sentence. "Hippie garbage?" Merton snorted. "I see." "It's been helping, though." "So I'm told. Kal said you didn't wolf out when you got mad at your dad."

Tommy's face fell. "Oh, she told you about that?" "Not in specifics…" "I, uh, asked her about after grad." "Oh?" Merton looked up from his plate, hopeful. "What did she say?" "That she didn't know what she wanted to do." Merton frowned. "Oh." "Um, what about you? Do you know where you want to go?" Merton shrugged. "I haven't decided yet either. Not officially." Tommy let out a loud sigh. "Cool."

"Have you?" Tommy looked to the side. "Unlike you two geniuses, I only really have one option. I was offered a full scholarship to State U." "Are you applying anywhere else?" He shrugged. "Alright then." Merton rolled his eyes, unsure what to make of Tommy's apathy. "I guess if you've got all your urges under control it doesn't matter if we go someplace together or not."

Tommy pushed his food around with his fork, feeling irritated. "Yeah, I guess not."

---

That night, Tommy and Kalida settled in on the couch beside Dean's chair. "It's about to start," Dean enthused.

Tommy grabbed a handful of popcorn out of the bowl Kalida was holding. "You've really never seen this, Kal?" She shook her head. "Nope." Dean grinned, laughing with excitement. "Well you are in a for a treat, little cuz." "It's my favourite Christmas movie." "I didn't know that Die Hard was a Christmas movie." Dean scoffed. "Uh, guys? Hello. It's starting." Tommy and Kalida held fingers to their mouths, silently shushing each other.

The lights dimmed momentarily before going back to normal. "Wow, that wind is really picking up," Tommy murmured. Kali whispered back as Dean turned the volume up on the tv. "I hope the power stays on." "Right, you're afraid of the dark." She elbowed him hard, making him laugh.

---

Kalida woke, disoriented. The room was still grey, the early morning sun barely lighting her curtains. When she rolled over, she made out the shadow of a person beside her bed and let out a sudden scream, flinching away.

"Kali, it's just me!" Tommy put his hands up defensively. "What are you doing?!" She sat up in bed and caught her breath, pulse racing. Tommy lowered his arms and sighed.

She could see now that he'd wolfed out. "I just came to wake you up. The power's out." "Oh." She looked around the room. Her alarm clock was blank, and her computer was off. The whole house was quieter than usual.

"Mom and Dad are off dealing with it. Apparently it's all over town. Mom said school's out today." "Oh." She yawned. "So I can go back to sleep?" "I guess. If you want to." Tommy tilted his head this way and that, trying to stretch his neck to help himself de-wolf.

"Sorry. Here, sit." She patted the bed. "I'll give you a back rub." He climbed onto the mattress and sat facing away from her. She rubbed her hands together, then set to work kneading the knots from his shoulders. He let out a low, pleased whine. "Thank you." She snorted. "No problem."

"I wonder if Merton knows that school is out today." "I dunno. How would anyone find out?" "Radio, I guess?" "Oh, yeah. I never listen to the radio here. It's all old music my parents wouldn't even listen to." He laughed. "I guess we could call him." "The cordless phones won't work if the base isn't powered, though." "There's the old phone in the kitchen."

"Right. Hey, should we invite him over?" "Or we could go to his place. He has all those-" he groaned as she worked on a particularly bothersome spot. "-candles, everywhere." His ears rounded and facial hair cleared, back to his usual self. "Yeah, okay. But you ask him." He laughed. "Why? Are you afraid that he'll say no to his girlfriend coming over?" "W-we're not…" She pulled her hands from his back. "I mean, we're not calling each other girlfriend and boyfriend yet."

"After one date, I guess that's not surprising. But you're headed that way." He hopped off the bed and rolled his shoulders, giving a pleased sigh. "You two have dancing around each other for weeks." "Well, anyway…" She slid off the other side of the bed. "I just don't want him to think it would just be me and him alone, or that I just want to see him all the time and not give him space, because what if he thinks I'm clingy and then-" "Okay, okay." Tommy held his hands up to stop her rambling. "I'll call him." "Alright. Thanks. I'll get dressed."

Tommy made his way down the dark hall and stairway with ease, able to see just fine thanks to his wolf abilities.

The wind whistled through a poorly sealed section of the window above the kitchen sink. He stepped over and looked out, surprised to see how far the breeze was bending the trees. Bits of debris flew through the sky in the distance. "I hope mom's not reporting from outside today…" he murmured. Making his way over to the phone, he had to think a moment to remember Merton's number. "That's right… I think…" He leaned against the wall as the phone rang.

A girl's voice answered. "Hullo?" "Hi. Is Merton home?" "Ugh." Becky sighed. "One minute. FREAKER! ARE YOU AWAKE? I'M NOT GOING DOWN INTO YOUR CREEPY DUNGEON TO-" The other line clicked on. "Hello?" "Hey, it's Tommy."

Becky slammed the phone down, the clanging of the receiver echoing in Merton and Tommy's ears. "Sorry about that. She's miffed at me right now." "When is she not?" Tommy laughed, playing with the phone cord. "Touché." Merton grinned. "Are you calling to tell me the power's out and there's no school?"

"That's part of it." Tommy conceded. "But also Kalida and I were wondering if you'd want to hang out, since we have the day off and all." Merton grimaced at the thought of driving. "The weather's pretty bad. The neighbour's gazebo blew into the street. I'm not sure we should be out in that." "I was thinking more along the lines of us hanging out in the lair." Merton made a concerned groan. "You think you can get here safely?"

"I could pick Kali up and run us over," he teased. "Yeah, real stealthy, wolfed out in broad daylight." Merton clicked his tongue. "But… if you think you can get here without a car accident, I'd be happy to have you." "Alright, we'll head over soon."

---

The roads were covered in bits of tree and brush, though most of the larger wreckage had been moved out of the way. Kalida was glad for her sturdy tires as she slowly moved Betsy down the street.

"Wow, Merton wasn't kidding about it being rough out here." Kalida frowned. "Hopefully they get everything sorted out today. Being without power for extended periods is not a good thing." "We can keep ourselves entertained." "Okay, but what about heat? What about hot showers? And all the businesses who have frozen and refrigerated food-" "They would have generators." "Oh, I guess so. That's good."

When they pulled onto Merton's street, the neighbour's gazebo was still blocking their path. Kalida stopped the vehicle. "Wanna get out and move that for me?" Tommy rolled his eyes, but sighed and hopped out of the camper.

Eyes glowing yellow, he strong-armed the structure over to the sidewalk by himself. When he got back in, Kalida whistled. "Remind me to borrow you next time I need heavy lifting done." Tommy grinned and flexed his arms, winking at her. "Wolf life."

---

Merton had strategically placed stable candle-holders around the space, the brightest ones on the table near his couch. He'd also pulled open all the curtains to let as much natural light in as possible, but the basement was still dim for late morning.

When the knock on his door came, he pulled it open wide. "Guten morgen. Please come in, friends." Kalida snickered, stepping in first. She held up a plastic bag full of food. "We come with snacks." Tommy held up a bag of his own. "Turns out the gas station has power." Merton shut the door behind them. "Maybe they'll get our end of town up soon, then."

Kalida settled in on the couch. "It's quite the mood lighting in here. Cold though." She pulled his usual black throw over her lap. Merton hopped over the back of the couch and sat right next to her. "I could warm you up." He wiggled his brows at her. Tommy pushed the back of Merton's head. "Don't be gross." Merton put a hand to his chest. "Cuddling is not gross. It's very natural."

Tommy sat down on the other side of Merton and pulled him onto his lap. He squeezed Merton tightly, pressing his head into his neck. "Yeah, this feels very natural." Merton laughed, then sighed wistfully, wrapping his arms around Tommy in return. "See? What'd I tell you?" Kalida feigned concern. "Hey, I already told you I don't want to share!" "We're just having a friendly snuggle." Merton grinned, rubbing his nose against Tommy's.

"Okay, you made it weird." Tommy snorted and pushed him off, into Kalida. "You can have him." Merton laid back on her lap, resting his feet on Tommy's. Kalida leaned down to give Merton an awkward hug. "Mine." Merton closed his eyes and gave a wistful sigh. "Feel free to fight over me whenever you like."

Tommy relaxed into the back of the couch. "I think we both know who would win." "I do look better in a dress than you," Kalida nodded. Tommy laughed. "But which one is the werewolf?" "Oh, that's right. Merton did say he has a thing for monsters." Kalida poked at Merton's belly. Merton squirmed. "I can't help it. I told you, trouble follows me."

---

It was late afternoon when the power finally lurched on in the lair. "And then there was light!" Kalida squealed. Merton laughed. "I guess that means they've repaired the power lines."

"I wonder if mom's reporting." Tommy grabbed the remote and turned Merton's TV to the local news channel. Sally popped onto the screen, standing in front of a large window that revealed wind blowing against trees outside.

"…unforecasted winds continue to blow through the town, most of the power grids have been restored. Meteorologists are uncertain how long the storm will last, but are warning residents that we may lose power again this evening."

Kalida frowned. "That's weird." Tommy shrugged. "It's still windy, so we might lose power again." "No, I mean that it wasn't forecast and they don't know how long it will last." She got up and made her way over to Merton's computer, pushing the power button to boot it up. Merton raised a brow. "What are you thinking?"

"Might be magic? I read about weather witches in this one book my mom had." She chewed her lip. "Plus didn't you say something about farmers when that perendi showed up?" Merton hummed. "Right. They're supposed to be summoned. I guess we didn't figure out who summoned it." Tommy furrowed his brow. "So someone's just messing with the weather for fun?"

Kalida shrugged, punching in Merton's password. "Maybe. I just figured I'd look up if there was something that did this kind of wind effect." "Anything with air element magic?" Merton offered. "That's a pretty wide net." "Yeah. Is there something that counteracts it, though?" "A whole element of magic? Probably easier to find the exact creature or spell at work and take it out directly."

Tommy got up and stretched. "So we're going hunting tonight?" Merton got up too, and made his way over to his desk. He read over Kalida's shoulder as she searched. "Seems like it."

The TV played a loud guitar riff, catching Tommy's attention. "…at the post-storm Power's On Party tonight at the Factory!" "Oh hey, they're having a party at the Factory tonight!" He held up his index and pinky fingers and mimed head banging. "I bet Joelle will be there."

"Great," Merton snorted. "Maybe when we're done saving the town, you can go flirt with the new girl." Kalida reached up behind her to smack Merton's chest. "Let him have his fun." "Yeah, I recall a certain other person being excited to spend time with a new girl." Merton smiled down at Kalida. "I don't know what you're talking about."

Kalida leaned in toward the screen. "A sylph, maybe?" Merton pressed in close to read the article she had pulled up. "Yeah, it might be." Tommy walked over and stood on the other side of the desk. He picked up Merton's skull and started tossing it like a baseball. "Cool, so how do we kill a sylph?"

"We could drown it?" "Or we could burn it." Merton shrugged. "I feel like it's easier to burn an air elemental than to hold it under water." Kalida twisted to face him. "You have a flamethrower in your closet I don't know about?" His eyes lit up. "No, I wish." He fingered his chin. "But I do have some big torches we used at the last tri-state LARP meetup."

Kalida nodded. "Okay, those should work. We have to figure out where it would be." She typed into search engine, looking up the local weather forecast. She pulled up a map that showed the movement of the storm. "Weird, it just started up right on the edge of town and has been moving north." She studied the map. "I think it'll be up the mountain tonight, if it keeps a steady trajectory. By the lookout."

"With all those trees? Might be a dangerous place to be in a windstorm." "Also let's try not starting a forest fire." Tommy passed the skull from hand to hand. "So when do we head out?" "I think we should wait til night falls. Sunset's not for a few hours yet." He sighed. "We're totally gonna miss the party." Kalida shook her head. "No, we won't! We'll fight the thing, and then go to the Factory. I promise."

---

Kalida peered out the front of the hearse. "Are you sure we shouldn't be taking Betsy instead?" The wind was still kicking up tree bits and garbage into the sky above them. "It's more likely to flip in the stronger wind," Merton explained. He tapped the steering wheel with affection. "Besides, she's got fresh tires and a proven track record." Tommy rubbed his hands together, watching the sun get swallowed by the mountains. "Let's go catch us a sylph." "Okay, okay." Kalida did up her seat belt. "Fine." She glanced into the back of the hearse. Three large torches took up the length of the carriage. "This had better work."

The road up to the lookout was littered with pinecones and twigs, but the treeline shielded it from the brunt of the wind. Merton looked up toward the sky and pointed at the circle of clear indigo in the center of swirling clouds. "That would be the eye of the storm." "I guess we're on the right track," Kalida murmured. She could feel an unfamiliar vibrational energy in the area. "Feels… tense, up here." Tommy clapped his hand onto his cousin's shoulder. "We'll be fine."

"Y-yeah, that's not what I meant." She squinted up at the dark sky, making out a strange movement against the stars. "It feels unnatural, like out of the natural order." "Well, it is an unnatural storm," Merton offered. "Yeah, I guess that's all it is. Magic storm."

Tommy watched out the windshield as they pulled into the clearing at the top of the hill. Merton parked near the forest, far from the cliff edge. "It just feels windy to me," Merton laughed. He flashed her a lopsided grin. "Must be your witch sense." She pointed up to the eye. "Do you see something up there?" Tommy squinted, focusing. "Like a blurry… shape?" "Yeah." Merton tried to spot it too. "Would that be the sylph then?" "Let's find out." Tommy hopped out, letting wind into the vehicle as soon as he opened the door.

Kalida shivered. "Oh, it's cold!" She slid out the door after her cousin. Tommy pulled open the back doors of the hearse and passed one of the long torches to Kalida. "One for you," He pulled another out, and passed it to Merton, who had joined them behind the hearse. "One for you." Kalida lit the torch with her lighter, then held the flame to the end of Merton's.

"Do you think you can get its attention with the arrows?" Merton asked, looking over at Tommy. "It's pretty high up there, but we'll see." He pulled a hunting bow out of the back and prepped an arrow. Merton had fashioned them into flaming arrows that could be lit before launch, but they hadn't been able to test any. "Hopefully this works."

Merton and Kalida held their torches upright while Tommy pulled back his shot. Kalida leaned over and lit the bundle of fuel-soaked fabric that had been tied on, then pulled her hand away as it erupted into wild flames. Tommy let it loose the moment her hand was clear.

The fireball soared into the sky, nearly directly upward, reaching the center of the circular cloud clearing, then arched downward and died out before it hit the ground. The blur that Tommy had been tracking darted erratically, then lurched downward toward them. The three teenagers winced in the sudden blast of wind as the sylph landed before them on the cliff side. It had a tall, stocky, translucent body that caught the light of the torches in a strange way. Its vague features blurred with movement as it approached them, hair swirling around its body.

Tommy wolfed out and shot another arrow, not bothering to light it. The sylph dodged easily, moving several feet to the side in the blink of an eye.

The torch flames danced wildly in the wind, but remained lit. Kalida lowered the end of her pole and ran toward the creature, trying to stick it with the flames. Merton followed suit, but the sylph was fast, darting between them. It raised its ephemeral arms and sent a stinging gust of freezing wind their way.

Kalida was knocked back, the fallen torch pinning her to the ground. "Motherf-" Tommy grabbed the pole and swung the flaming end erratically at the creature. "Go back where you came from!" "Are you okay?" Merton barely managed to hold his torch upright as he looked over at Kalida. "I'm fine," she waved dismissively, then pulled herself up off the dirt and gravel. She took the bow from the ground and ran back to the hearse for another arrow. Gee, Tommy, you could have taken more than two with you.

She pulled it back and watched the scramble between the sylph and her guys. She didn't want to hit either of them, but the torch had proven unwieldy. She took a deep breath and whispered a prayer to her guides. She watched as the boys flailed their burning torches at the creature without making purchase. When intuition told her to, she let loose a single shot. The arrow narrowly missed Merton's arm, passed through Tommy's torch flames, and stuck into the shoulder of the sylph. It screeched in pain, so loudly the trees shook.

Tommy took the moment of distraction to bring the pole up against the sylph's back, knocking it to the ground. He pinned the creature beneath the flaming end of the torch, and Merton followed suit. Kalida watched with mild horror as the creature burned before them, it's death cries echoing out above the gusting wind.

The swirling clouds above their head calmed and dissipated. The trees in the valley creaked back into their normal position in unison, followed by a sudden silence as the whistling that had been filling the town for nearly twenty four hours stopped as suddenly as it had begun.

Tommy jogged back to the hearse, putting out the torches before loading them into the back. "Okay, let's go to the party." Kalida shivered. "Dude, you just burned a thing alive. Maybe tone down the chipper 'tude?" Merton put his hand on Kalida's back. "His animal instincts are taking over his brain." "Come on!" Tommy hopped in the front seat and shut the door.

"Wow." Kalida blinked and put the bow away. "I guess he really needs a girlfriend." Merton laughed. "You wanted him to have his fun." They piled in on the driver's side and started back down the mountain.

Tommy had de-wolfed and was tapping his hands on the dashboard. "It's too bad we'll have power tomorrow. If school was out, I could stay out later." "Oh yeah?" Kalida elbowed his side. "You planning to spend the night?" "She does have her own place." He wagged his eyebrows at her. "Tommy, seriously? What if you wolf out?" Merton glanced over with concern. "I won't let it get to that." He waved dismissively. "Relax."

"So who is this mystery lady anyway?" "Her name is Joelle. She graduated early and moved here last week. She got a job at the bucket, and she likes to party." "That's it? You spent the whole night with her and that's your summary? Did you get her last name?" "We didn't spend that much time talking. We danced a lot. And other stuff." "Other stuff." Merton raised a brow.

Kalida put her hands up. "No, I don't want to know. I saw his hair. I don't need mental imagery to go with." Tommy snickered. "We're all adults here." "Actually, no. None of us are. Technically, here, we're a few years off yet." "Oh right, the age of majority is only nineteen in Canada."

"Well, where I'm from, yeah. I think it's lower in some provinces. I remember Nate saying he was gonna visit Laval when he turned eighteen so he could drink." "Who's Laval?" Tommy questioned. "No, Laval's a place. In Quebec. He has family there or something. Or he wanted to see the space center maybe. I don't remember why he chose there specifically."

"Well, anyway," Tommy rolled his eyes. "It's not like you two can pretend to be so pure and innocent when it comes to liking people. I was there when you were under Mark's spell." Kalida elbowed him hard, making him double over and wolf out. "Owwww! What was that for?!" he whined.

"Next time you're possessed by some demon, I'll be sure to tease you about it." "I didn't mean it like that…" Tommy rubbed his side, trying to relax. "I just meant that you two clearly like each other." "Well it's none of your business." Kalida folded her arms over her chest. Merton gave Tommy a pitying glance. "I'll circle the block til you calm down."

---

A/N: Yes I am shamelessly using Faith from Buffy the Vampire Slayer (Eliza Dushku) as the faceclaim for Joelle because that's exactly how I have always imagined her.

Tags: @self-conscious-author

(Please let me know if you'd like to be tagged on Big Wolf fics specifically.)

---

Chapter 14 here.

Chapters: 1&2, 3&4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17

#big wolf on campus #big wolf #big wolf on campus fanfic #merton x oc #merton j dingle #merton dingle #tommy dawkins #tommy dawkins x oc