Alone • Liam Dunbar

Two

The rest of Satomi's pack had taken to me, too. After we all fought together on the last night of the Dead Pool, it was almost impossible for them not to feel different in how they saw me, especially Richard. He had always been vocal in his distaste for me, but now was a dear friend who vouched for my presence as Brett once had. He also owned a mechanic's garage in town and did most of the maintenance on my bike. I had a feeling that the reason he had actually grown to enjoy my company was due to my motorcycle rather than me, but I didn't mind.

He also gave the rest of the pack more than generous deals, claiming that was his way of repaying us for helping to save his family. Stiles was probably the only one that didn't visit him, still attached to his trusty roll of duct tape to do his own repairs with.

"Morning, Jac," Lori greets me, beaming. 

I pause to ruffle her dirty blonde hair, happy to sacrifice a second of my time to acknowledge her after being away for most of the summer. I continue on my path afterward, though, Brett still makes an effort to speak with me. 

"Someone's in a rush," he points out with a condescending smirk

"Not all of us go to Devenford, jerk. Beacon starts today and I forgot to set my alarm," I explain hurriedly. He and Lori attended private school, so their schedule for this year luckily didn't pick up until next week. I could tell my rushing only amused them. 

"Yeah, that's why you're going to public school," Brett retorts snarkily.

"Lori!" I call out in a commanding tone. 

From the next flight of stairs, I hear Brett yelp painfully. I smile to myself as my young protégé defends me against her brother's snide comment. 

"Thank you!" 

After the Dead Pool, I had taken to training Lori and some of Satomi's other Betas. None of them wanted to be ill-prepared for another threat, so they were willing to pick up some defensive tricks from me. I mainly focused on Lori, not wanting her to have to rely on another person to keep her safe anymore. It also worked in my favor as she had grown to like me more than her brother, just a tad. 

When I get down to the parking lot, I don't give my bike any time to warm up before heading out, something Richard lectures me about a lot. I put that in the back of my mind as I make my way to the high school. By the time I actually arrive, I try not to feel a sense of defeat as I realize I've completely missed the first period.

Large masses of students are transitioning to their next class and I push through them to enter the school itself. The halls are even more congested, and I bite back any resistance at the proximity of the crowd as I head into the thick of it, trying to move with the flow of students.

Just like my nightmares, my distaste for another person's touch lingered. With the pack, it was different, I trusted them and we'd worked through my boundaries, but with strangers, it was hard not to feel like I was slowly being closed in by unknown limbs. Seeing Liam and Mason at the end of the hall helped to ease my troubles. They were talking, both having light-hearted smiles on their faces that I mirrored out of reflex. 

Mason still didn't know about Liam and I yet, but that didn't stop the three of us from growing closer. In fact, sometimes I even turned down hanging out with Stiles and Scott in favor of them. I told Liam I wouldn't have minded Mason knowing, but Liam was resistant considering Mason was still unaware of the world of the supernatural. I think he felt guilty about balancing two secrets and couldn't handle only confessing one.

A flood of soccer players entering the hallway makes me step aside, not wanting to get stampeded on by a bunch of broad-shouldered teens. I can't help but laugh as I realize Mason is trailing behind them closely, Liam abandoned. He only stops when he notices me, no embarrassment to be found over his stalking as he grins excitedly.