The last thing James "Jay" Hale ever imagined was to begrudgingly return to Beacon Hills, find out his older sister was murdered, and then be forced to go on a wild goose chase after an enigmatic Alpha that seemed to have a particular interest in ru...
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CHAPTER FOUR: A Pinky Promise is a Sealed Fate
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"So, it's just a dislocation?"
"Just a dislocation, McCall fucking ruined me."
Jay did a once-over of the blonde boy sitting in the hospital chair in front of him. His eyes travelled from Jackson's face over to the sling holding the boy's arm to his chest and then back to the twisted-up pained expression that seemed a tad bit overdone if anything. He looked a little pathetic in all honestly, hunched over in his dirtied-up lacrosse uniform and glaring at everything and everyone around him.
He wasn't planning on visiting Jackson at the hospital after reigning Scott in. And it was definitely going against his own personal decision to take a step back from his rekindling old friendships, but he wanted to make sure that Scott didn't do too much damage. You never knew with a werewolf. Besides, something Jay learned very quickly in the past week and a half of getting to know Jackson again, was that if he truly wanted him gone, he would have made it abundantly clear by spitting in his face or something.
Teenage Jackson Whittemore was a far cry from the kid Jay had grown up with and remembered. Now, as the years have gone by and puberty's done its number on him, the blonde was a temperamental bastard most of the time, an irritating jock other times, and an egotistical douchebag at best. But even still, Jay saw it for what it was: a projection and a facade. And that was what made him still stick around because judging Jackson for being fake and putting on a mask would just make him a hypocrite.
Granted, their friendship now felt a lot more superficial. Like they were both still going along with it out of childhood obligations than anything else.
"They didn't give you anything for the pain?" Jay asked him after a moment, settling down in the chair next to him with a small frown. He could smell the pain radiating off of Jackson and permeating the air, and it was enough to become nauseating with how it mingled and mixed with the hospital's overly sterile scent to create some type of dizzying concoction.
Jackson sighed, wincing at the slightest movement it caused. "Just steroids for the swelling. They won't break out the hard stuff until my parents give the green light."
"Well, how long until they get here?"
Jackson looked over at him with a blank expression. "If they bother showing up at all, it could be hours."
"Well..." Jay trailed off, sensing the sudden shift in mood. He had enough of his own family drama with just Derek being the sole perpetrator, he really didn't need to be involved in whatever Jackson family had going on as well. "What about Lydia? Maybe you should call her to come."
"Right," he scoffed. "You really are clueless, aren't you? "
Jay paused, his hand relaxing its grip on the seat armrest as he stared at Jakcosn with a frown. Sure, he may be an idiot, but he definitely wasn't clueless. "What? You mean how you and Lydia have this weird thing going on where you can't stand each other but still want to put on a show for everyone else?" Jackson looked away from him then, a little more sullen as he was called out and Jay just sighed, the growing moral compass in his gut making him feel obligated to fix everything. He gave Jackson an annoyed look before petulantly crossing his arms and kicking his feet up on the chair in front of him. "I'll stay."
