Danny

Theo has an adorable thinking face on right now.

Granted, he's running thru my math homework, and I'm sure I did it all wrong. But he's probably thinking of a polite way to break it to me.

"Give it to me straight, T," I say with a stoic voice. "How bad is it?"

He cocks his head at me and smiles. "I don't hate that nickname, but you got about half of them right."

"Fucccckkkkk," I say with a groan.

"Daniel! Watch your language, please," shouts Mrs. Collins from the kitchen.

"Sorry," I shout back.

"It's not that bad. You're getting the formula right most of the time. You're just plugging your numbers in wrong. We can fix that," he says and pushes my math book back over to me.

Before I can say anything, my phone rings, and I see it's Dad. "I have to take this. I'll be back."

Bryce hands Theo his math homework, and he starts looking it over as I go out into the backyard.

"Hey, Dad," I say in an even tone. I don't want him to think I'm panicked. Even if I am.

"Are you ok?" He says quickly. His voice is full of concern.

"Yeah," I say. "We're fine. I just wanted to tell you."

"Ok, good. You did the right thing heading back home," he says. "So, what do you know?"

I left my voicemail vague in case someone got his phone. We can't be too careful.

"I know it's a shifter, but I don't know what kind. It definitely followed us," I say and wait for his response.

"Shit. Ok. And it wasn't a wolf?" He asks.

"Brenden and I've never smelled one like this," I say. "I feel like it wanted us to know it was out there. It was upwind from us the whole time. Like it wanted us to smell it."

"Ok. I don't want you going home tonight. Stay with Brenden. And before you say you can handle it. You can't. You don't even know what it is," he says as if he's reading my mind.

"Ok. Fine. I'm at Bryce's anyways. I'll just say here," I say with a grumble.

"Ok, good. I'll send some of the pack out to investigate now," he says and takes a breath. "What you three doing today?"

"We did the hike, and now we're doing homework. Theo's helping us with math," I say and then add with a smile. "I might get a C+ this semester thanks to him."

Dad laughs, "whatever it takes. You're smart, Danny. Just not math smart. Neither was I. Don't let it get you down."

My Dad can be surprisingly supportive sometimes. He's just busy at the sheriff's station, and I understand.

"Thanks, Pops," I say back.

"Ok. I've got calls to make. I'll let you know when they're done. I love you and be good."

"I love you too," I say back, and he hangs up.

I head back inside and find Brenden, Bryce, and Jackson laughing at Theo. He looks annoyed.

"What'd I miss?" I ask and take a seat. I looked at my math homework, and Theo mapped out two of the problems I got wrong for me. He's right. I'm close to the right answer on some of these.

Brenden smiles and turns to me. "I bet Theo I could get an 80 on the homework, and I won."

"Nice, what'd you win?" I ask and Theo Huffs.

"He has to come to the homecoming game next Friday," he says with a laugh.

Theo moved here over a month ago. The first and third games were away. The other two games were home, but he didn't come and yesterday was our off week, so no game.

I turn to him. "Do you like football?"

"Nope. I'm a hockey guy," he says with a smile, "but I'll be there. Gotta watch Bryce get that crown.

Mr. Collins comes into the room at the point, "Bryce, are you homecoming royalty?"

"I am. I checked the numbers. I beat Danny by five votes," he says with a cocky grin. Being class president pays off for him.

"Next year, I'll crush you, good sir," I say back and toss my eraser at him.

Mr. Collins smiles and holds up his hand. "Hold that thought. I wanna show you guys something."

He heads out of the room, and we get back to work. I manage to do another problem and get the thumbs up from Theo by the time his Uncle walks back into the room with two yearbooks.

"Take a look. There I am in junior year. Homecoming Prince in my football uniform and everything," he says and shows Brenden and me the pictures first.

Sheriff Collins went to Astoria High years ago. He and Dad were a year apart. Brenden's Mom was a year below him. So it's a small town for sure.

"Who's the cheerleader?" Asks Brenden.

Theo and Bryce look at the picture, and they both give Sheriff Collins a weird look.

"That would be my sister. Theo's Mom. We won that year together. The Dance the next night was a little awkward, but we had fun," he says with a smile. Theo's just staring at the picture. Bryce told me his Aunt had been missing for a long time. After she came into town the last time and stole some of their stuff, she vanished. I know Theo misses her.

"Senior year was less awkward," says Mr. Collins, and he opens the other book. "There I am, but I didn't win. Theo, check it out."

Theo makes a quiet sound of shock as he looks at the picture. Brenden and I hear it, but his Uncle doesn't realize his mistake until Theo gets up from the table and leaves the room.

"Shit. I thought he'd like to see that," he says quietly.

"What'd you show him?" I ask.

He flips the book around for us to see. Theo's Mom Hugging a guy with a big smile. "That's Theo's Dad. They'd been dating a couple of weeks at that point." 

I look at the couple. Theo looks like his Mom, but I can see his Dad's features pop up here and there.

I can hear a soft crying coming from upstairs, and I know it's Theo. Seeing his parents happy and healthy is probably tripping him up.

"I'll go talk to him," says Sheriff Collins. "Sorry for bringing down the party."

"Nah. I like that you have those memories. My Mom said that it's important to share those," says Brenden. His Mom's a therapist. 

"I'll use that when I talk to Theo," says the Sherriff, and he heads upstairs.

We all silently turn back to our homework. I give Brenden a slight head shake. He and I don't need to listen to Theo and his uncle talking. We can try and block them out.

*****
Theo

"Theo?" Says Uncle Mason with a quiet knock. "Can I come in, bud?"

He doesn't wait for me to respond and just opens the door.

My glasses are on the nightstand cause they got smudged as I cried. Should've put my contacts in, but I hate them unless I'm playing a sport.

"Theo. I'm sorry. I didn't think about what it would be like to see them," he says and sits down on the bed.

I wipe my face a bit, but I don't speak. I don't want him to know how much it hurt to see them happy. They were happy before me, not because of me.

He rubs my back a bit, and I still tense up. I'm not used to being touched lovingly yet. "You know the last time your mom was here, she wouldn't stop talking about you."

I roll over at that. Mom was here a couple of years ago. It was a nightmare for them, but she was here. "She hadn't seen me in like three years. What could she talk about?"

"She didn't want to be around your dad, but it turns out she was keeping tabs on you and your PeeWee hockey team," he says with a smile, and I clean my glasses. "She might not have been the best Mom, but she cared about you in a way she could."

"No. They both hated me. I ruined their lives," I say and start to tear up.

"No," snaps Uncle Mason. I've never heard him speak like that to us. "No. You never ruined their lives. Your Dad broke his leg and lost his scholarship because he jumped off a roof onto a trampoline. That's on him. Your Mom dropped out of school cause she didn't like it. That's on her. He sold drugs, and she used. On them." He pauses and takes a breath. "You," he says and points to me. "You Didn't cause any of that. They should've taken better care of you. You are not to blame."

We're quiet for a beat before he speaks again. "I'm sorry I shouted. I don't want you to ever think you're the problem. You understand?"

I nod. He does the same and pulls me in close. "I love you, kiddo. I thought the photos of them when they were your age would be fun for you to see."

"It was nice seeing them happy like that. I can't remember the last time I saw that," I say quietly. "What did Mom say when she was here?"

"You mean before I caught her stealing Jackson's iPad?" He says in an annoyed tone. He softens right away. "Sorry. She said you were like a pro on the ice. Like NHL good. Tryouts are in December, so we can hit the rink starting next weekend."

"Ok. That'll be fun," I say. I genuinely feel better now. He's right; I wasn't why they did those things, but it still hurts that they did it.

"Good. Ok. Take some time and come down," he says with a smile. "Bryce will never admit it, but he likes studying with you. Plus, Danny is baaaaad at math. I need you to help him cause he gets really moody when he doesn't do well."

I can't help but laugh. Danny is adorable...straight but adorable. I can see the big-headed jock being annoying when stuff doesn't go his way.

I heave out a sigh. It's not one of true annoyance. Having a crush on Danny is better than falling for a bad boy like Chris.

I don't miss my ex. Not really. He was a different kind of abusive. I can do better just being alone and crushing on straight boys.

With that thought, I head back downstairs. I have homework to correct for Bryce and Danny.

*****
Danny-

I can hear the pack yipping in the woods. It sounds like they found the trail and the smell of the other shifter, but it's long gone.

"Damn it," I say quietly to no one. "It got away?"

"What was that?" Says a voice from behind me. I startle. Theo actually snuck up on me. "Shit. Sorry. I didn't mean to scare you."

I shake my head and answer him, "I wasn't scared. I just didn't hear you."

Theo walks up next to me and looks out the back door. Trying to see what I could be looking for out there. He can't see beyond the light on the door, but I can.

"Growing up with an angry parent, you learn to walk as quietly as you can. I'm a panther in the night, my friend," he says with a smile.

"Well cat boy, what's got you up this late?" I ask quietly.

"I was reading that book for English, and then I wanted a banana, and here we are," he says and walks over to the food. "What are you doing up?"

"Listening to the sounds of woods. It's my happy place," I say and see him chewing on a banana, already smiling. "What's your happy place?"

He thinks for a second before he answers. "I haven't actually been to that many places....but I really liked it out there today. It might not be my happy place, but I like it. If not the overlook today, then Union Lake."

"That's the big lake in Seattle, right?" I ask quietly as we head out of the kitchen.

He nods, "yup....my ex and I would go there a lot. It was close to my apartment."

The infamous ex. I've heard almost nothing about him. "What was he like?" I ask in a low voice.

"He was....a dick. In the worst way. I'm pretty sure he told my Dad I'm gay when I broke up with him."

"Fuck off, really," I say in a shocked voice.

He nods slightly as we come to the top of the stairs. "I doubt he told him he was dating me, but yes. I think so. He "worked" for my Dad."

"Gotcha. You don't need to talk about it if you don't want to," I say and pat his back. I feel him tense up from the contact, but I think that's the cause of the abuse in his past.

"Thanks," he says with a sigh. " good night Daniel Tiger. I'll see you in the morning."

"Sweet dreams, T-Dog," I say back with a quiet chuckle.

We part ways at his door, and I head to Bryce's room. Bryce was fast asleep when I left to check the woods, so I'm not shocked that he's out still.

I pull out my phone and text Dad

Me- what's the word?

He texts back within a couple of minutes.

Dad- they picked up the scent, but it was gone.

Me- do they know the kind.

Dad- probably a big cat. Nothing around the town, so you don't need to worry.

Me- ok. Night pops. I'll see you tomorrow.

Dad- sweet dreams, Danny.

I plug my phone in and roll over to sleep. I can hear Bryce's even heartbeat. I can hear Sheriff Collins snoring lightly and the sounds in the woods.

I can't hear Theo. He must be using his white noise app cause I can hear crickets and cars driving by.

Good for him. He needs a good night's sleep. I need to work on this crush, but I'll be ok in the long run.