Toy Wolf

Chapter 28: how queer

The car ride was silent. I didn't start any conversations, and Grant didn't look like he wanted to talk to me anyway. He gripped the steering wheel as we drove well above the posted speed limit. I didn't mind not talking. I instead stared out the window taking in my new surroundings. The sky was huge and blue with no clouds as far as I could see. There were no trees, only some lonely bushes that we passed growing by the various highway signs.

Stefa had been quite jealous that I was leaving, but had made me promise that I would keep Grant and myself safe.

"We need him," she had said. "We're going to need a vehicle and someone who knows where we are for this to work. Do not let him die. And don't let him turn, at least as you can help it."

I wasn't certain how I could stop that from happening, but I had promised all the same.

We stopped for gas near dusk. Grant pulled up to the station and turned the car off, look at me for the first time before getting out.

"What?" I asked.

"Do you drink soda?" he asked randomly.

"Not really," I replied. "It's too sweet. I like tea?"

He scoffed, unbuckling his seat belt. "We might as well eat here. We've got four more hours to drive. Pizza or Mexican?"

"I don't have a preference," I said. "You're the one who's vegan. I'm not picky."

Grant groaned. "I'll do vegetarian. I'm not going to eat a pizza without cheese; I haven't fallen so low. Let's go."

I got out of the car and we walked from the gas station next door to the restaurant. I had only been to a restaurant a handful of times, mainly Mother's Day when Ralph didn't want Mel to cook and he knew he'd burn the house down trying. I was surprised that a whole establishment would be dedicated to just pizza. Did so many people not know how to make it?

We were sat at a booth and Grant opened the menu. A couple patrons in the restaurant gave us odd looks so I opened my menu, trying to ignore them.

"We'd better get separate pizzas," he sighed. "So I'm not tempted. I hate this."

"I can eat vegetarian too," I told him. "I don't mind vegetables. That way there is no temptation."

He raised an eyebrow at me. "Really? You don't mind?"

"So long as you get a very big pizza," I answered with a grin.

This way I didn't have to slowly read the menu and make decisions. I hadn't been practicing and I was bound to be very slow.

"Sweet or unsweetened tea?" he inquired.

"Unsweet," I replied.

The waitress came up a while later and took our order, Grant ordering an extra large veggie pizza with double mushrooms. He got a cream soda instead of tea. When the waitress took our menus, Grant leaned back in the booth, sighing.

"Thank you for not making this more difficult than it has to be," he said.

"What does that mean?" I questioned.

"You could have very well ordered me to do...whatever. But you haven't. Thank you."

"I'm not...an asshole," I said. "I get...angry about the situation I'm in. But you're not so different from me, regardless of what you want to think."

"I know," he said quietly.

The waitress dropped off our drinks with a smile and left again. The tea was odd and a little bitter, but I drank it anyway. Grant seemed to relish his cream soda; there wasn't anything but water back on the campus.

"We'll fill up the car and then drive to the motel," he said. "Hopefully we'll have a couple hours before morning to sleep before we check in with my father. He should have better information tomorrow."

"How did you hear about this anyway?" I asked.

"We follow several police scanners," he said. "Online papers, social media, that sort of thing. It's the thankless part of hunting, the part I've been doing for the past six weeks. I'm this didn't seem risky or my father would never have let me come."

"Why did I have to come?"

"Because if I turn or slip up, I could infect another hunter," he said. "I can't infect you with vampirism; you're immune. If I came by myself then no one could stop me if I turned. I understand the reasoning, but I don't have to like it. He acts as if I'm some fragile ornament now. He's the one who's insisted that I stay away from all meat, and he's not here to berate me."

Our pizza came out a short while later and we made quick work of it. Grant ate nearly as much as I did, and I found I truly didn't mind getting the vegetarian.

Two men seated across the room rose and headed towards us. I tapped Grant with my foot under the table as they approached.

"We don't have much of a tolerance for your kind here," one man said gruffly. "You should get on down the road now."

"Our kind?" I asked faintly, confused how anyone could pick us out as being not human.

"You queer sort," the other man said. "We're God-fearing folk here."

Grant had been wearing a similarly confused look until the man said this. His face morphed into a rather concerning grin.

"How nice," he said in a smooth tone. "If I've read my Bible correctly, your God also hung out with prostitutes and thieves. And there's that pithy story about throwing the first stone, I've always enjoyed that. So if we're discussing the same God, then perhaps you'd do better to fear him less and follow him more."

Grant rose from the table. Neither of us was taller than the men trying to menace us. I wasn't exactly certain why we were being harassed now that I knew that it wasn't werewolf/vampire related. He tossed down a couple bills on his empty plate and smiled again.

"Excuse me," he said. "Come on, Conor."

I followed him out of the restaurant, half expecting the two men to follow us out. They didn't. Grant purchased gas and we were on our way down the road.

"What was that about?" I asked finally.

"I find homophobia hilarious," he replied.

____

I have no idea whether Grant is gay or not, but I love this encounter so much. I think Conor and Grant would be a cute couple, if you know, Conor and Stefa weren't a weird thing. Thanks for reading!