The next day, Brandon and Crys made their way back to school almost as if nothing had happened the day prior. The first batch of classes for the day were dull and tedious, then it was time for lunch.
As Crys and Brandon took their seats at the lunch table, they saw Tomas and Emma already there waiting for them.
As soon as Crys got seated, she spoke up. "Emma." She said, sounding a little out of it, but much more like herself. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry for what I said yesterday... and to you too, Tomas.I-I shouldn't have been so mean to either of you. I'm sorry."
Tomas gave a glance to Brandon, but his expression didn't clue him into anything. "Thanks, Crys." He said.
Emma gave a little nod of acknowledgement. "All is forgiven." She said.
"So... what happened with you yesterday?" Tomas asked. "I heard you almost broke Connor's wrist."
"How'd you hear about that?" Crys asked nervously.
"Connor said something about it and it spread around." Tomas said flatly.
"Oh..." Crys said glumly.
"Is it true?" Tomas asked.
"Yeah, it is." Crys replied.
"Why'd you finally do something? I thought you were going to try and just ignore it, then yesterday you just snapped and threatened to fight him in the middle of lunch." Tomas asked, genuinely interested.
"Yesterday I- well, uh..." Crys trailed off, not really having an easy way to put it without also revealing what had been going on.
Tomas furrowed his eyebrows, confused.
"She had a rough day." Brandon spoke up in Crys' place.
"What happened?" Tomas asked, getting a little more serious.
Crys sighed. "Look, I'm fine... Yesterday I just, couldn't control myself. I uh, um..." She struggled.
"Alright, what's going on?" Tomas asked, knowing something wasn't being said.
"Tomas, it's just-" Brandon started to say.
"I want her to tell me." Tomas interrupted, rude, but not as rude as he could've been.
Crys struggled to find the words. "I... I uh..."
"Crys, quit keeping things from us, it isn't fair." Tomas said.
"I-I know you and Emma hate when I keep things from you, but right now-"
Tomas scoffed. "Of course there's an excuse..." He said, frustrated.
"Look!" Crys exclaimed in a hushed, serious, tone. "I can't tell either of you. Neither of you are safe, okay? If either of you know what's going on, then you'll both be in serious trouble."
"We can help, Crys!" Tomas replied in a similarly controlled volume.
"No you can't!" Crys replied with a tinge of fear in her tone.
"You don't know that!"
"Yes, I do! Please, just this once, believe me when I say that you're safer not knowing." She begged. "I can't let either of you get hurt, and if either of you know, then both of you will get hurt."
"But he can know, right?" Tomas said in reference to Bandon.
"He didn't have a choice!" Crys said harshly. "I'm living with him, and since he knows I'm a werewolf, he's already in huge trouble! It's a miracle nothing happened to him yet!"
"Crys, both Emma and I know you're a werewolf already, doesn't that mean we're already in danger?" Tomas responded.
"He doesn't know, and that's what matters. If he knows you know, then you'll both be in just as much danger as Brandon." Crys muttered.
"Who's 'he'!?" Tomas asked, partially angry and partially confused.
Crys shook her head. "I-I can't tell you. Please, Tomas, trust me. I-I can't let you get involved this time. It's too dangerous."
"More dangerous than when my mother came back?" Tomas threw back.
Crys shut her eyes and turned her head to the side, then took a breath as looked back at Tomas with tears welling up in her eyes. "Please, Tomas. Please believe me." She said, almost heartbroken.
Emma nudged Tomas, getting him to look at her. "If what Crys is saying is true, which I absolutely believe to be the case, we need to stop asking questions."
"Why?" Tomas asked back reasonably, but still a tad harsh.
"From what I can tell, right now, information is dangerous. You and I know a lot, but not everyone knows that. Whoever, or whatever, is terrorizing Crys and threatening Brandon most likely does not know that we know just as much as them. If they let us in on what is happening, it places just as big a target on our backs as they have on theirs."
Tomas pondered for a moment, working through the logic. "Alright." He said. "Fine, I'll accept that for now, but as soon as this is over, you need to explain this." He added on directing it towards Crys in a serious, but relenting, tone.
Crys nodded. "I will, I promise." She said.
Tomas shook his head a little, just dumbfounded with how bad everyone's lives were going. "Thank you." He said quietly.
Crys put her head down on the table and took a deep breath. "I'm so sorry about yesterday." She said.
"It's okay, Crys." Tomas said, casually. "Really."
"I just couldn't control myself all day. I tried and tried and things just slipped out. It was like I was on auto-pilot and doing whatever first popped into my head." Crys explained.
"And I'm guessing that's a part of whatever's going on?" Tomas asked.
"Yeah..." Crys responded.
"Y'know, maybe Connor will stop bugging us, at least." Brandon chimed in. "I haven't heard from him at all today."
"Yeah, I think he decided to back off." Tomas hopped onto the different subject, a tad grateful. "From what I've heard he said Crys was some sort of psycho and wanted nothing else to do with her, which is pretty good all things considered."
Crys picked her head up off the table with a glum face. "A psycho?" She asked quietly, sounding hurt.
"I'm fairly certain that was just his way of saying he's not going to mess with you anymore without staining his reputation for being tough." Tomas explained.
Crys put her head back down on the table and groaned.
"At least that makes school a little more bearable." Brandon said.
Tomas nodded in agreement.
Everyone went quiet for a few moments since that conversation naturally reached an end.
"Maybe we should all go hang out after school." Brandon spoke up again.
"I'd love to do that." Tomas said, liking the idea.
"I will go." Emma chimed in.
Crys took a deep breath.
"Well, Crys?" Brandon asked with a grin.
"I-I don't know." Crys said, sounding uncertain.
"Why not?" Brandon asked in reply.
"I just... I'm not really in the mood." Crys said flatly, sounding quite glum still.
"Why not, Crys?" Tomas asked.
Crys gave Tomas a look showing just how miserable she felt.
"Maybe what you need is some time away from everything." Tomas continued. "Just forget it all for a bit."
Crys mulled over the idea for a bit. She definitely could use a distraction, but she just felt so... empty. It didn't matter if it would even be fun, she just didn't feel like doing anything. "Where would we even go?" She asked.
"I mean, I was thinking the ice rink again, honestly." Brandon said. "You could go skating again."
"I wouldn't mind checking that place out." Tomas chimed in.
Crys took a deep breath. "Alright, I'll go." She said, not sounding too enthused.
"You sure?" Brandon asked, picking up on Crys' tone.
Crys thought for a moment, keeping quiet. Everyone patiently waited for her to say something. "Yeah." She said, mostly flat. She figured she probably should go, considering everyone else was. That, and she also knew how nice it was when she went ice skating just a few days ago, letting all her worries slip away. She wanted to try and have that peace again.
"Cool." Tomas said. "So we'll just head there after school, then?"
"Sounds good to me." Brandon said.
Crys nodded, keeping quiet.
Emma nodded as well, mostly just because she didn't feel like answering verbally.
"I'll see if my dad can take us all there. That way we don't have to walk the whole way." Tomas added on.
"That'll be nice." Brandon said. "It's a pretty long walk."
Crys kept quiet, mindlessly messing with her lunch.
The conversation shriveled up from there, and the rest of lunch went on in occasional idle chit-chat. The rest of the school day then passed by as well, dull and dreadfully slow. The four friends were picked up by Tomas' dad, who drove them all to the ice rink to hang out.
At the ice rink, the four friends headed in along with Tomas' dad who decided to hang out off to the side as he waited to take everyone home.
All four friends made their way to the ice rink in the center of the building. Tomas and Emma sat down just outside the ice rink. They had rented some ice skates when they had first entered the building, and now they were putting them on. Crys and Brandon sat down on the same bench as Tomas and Emma.
"Oh!" Brandon said, realizing something. "We didn't go grab your skates from home!" He said.
Crys shrugged. "It's fine." She said, flatly.
"Did you get skates from Mr. Pete?" Brandon asked.
"No."
"Well, how are you gonna skate, then?"
"I don't want to skate." Crys said without any hesitation.
"What do you mean?" Brandon asked.
"Well..." Crys said, trailing off, sounding rather glum.
"Just don't want to?" Brandon asked.
"I..." Crys sighed. "I just, I don't feel like it right now."
"Oh..." Brandon said.
"So, you're not joining us?" Tomas asked, a tad disappointed.
Crys shook her head with a slight frown.
"Well, alright then." Tomas replied. He and Emma got up.
"Feel free to join us if you change your mind." Emma offered.
Crys gave a small nod.
Tomas and Emma went into the ice rink to skate.
"Something wrong?" Brandon asked, concerned for Crys. "Skating's like, your favorite thing."
"I know. I really do love it... I just, don't feel like doing it, or anything, really." Crys replied, still sounding out of it.
"Well, we could always do something else." Brandon offered. "Go play some of the arcade games or something."
Crys took a deep breath. "I just don't feel like doing anything. I don't really want to do anything." She said with emphasis on the 'want'.
"So, would you just want to go home and watch movies all night or something like that?" Brandon asked, trying to better understand.
"Not even that." Crys murmured. "I kind of just want the day to be over. I just want to go to sleep and not have to do anything else whatsoever."
"Oh..." Brandon said. He vaguely understood how Crys felt.
Crys took another deep breath. "I'm sorry, Brandon." She said. "I'm just not in the mood today."
"Because of yesterday?" Brandon asked, being serious.
Crys glanced at Brandon. "A bit." She said. "I just feel so empty. I don't want to do anything at all. I don't feel bad, I don't feel upset, I just feel... I-I don't know."
"Hollow?" Brandon suggested.
"Something like that." Crys replied.
Brandon gave a slight frown. "I... I kinda know how that feels." He said. "I hope you feel better, Crys."
"You've never been like that around me." Crys said. "... and, thanks..."
"I uh... It's in the past." Brandon said. "I leave that stuff behind in my world... yeah."
Both friends went quiet for a bit.
"You sure you don't want to skate a little bit?" Brandon asked.
Crys pondered the idea, then shrugged.
"I'll join you." Brandon offered.
Crys gained a faint smile. "You sure with your terrible balance?"
"You've got me." Brandon replied.
With that, Crys got up, extending her hand to Brandon. Brandon took her hand and got up as well. The two friends went and got some rental skates and joined Tomas and Emma on the ice.
It was late in the night. Crys slowly woke up again, her head spinning. She opened her eyes only to find a disgraceful sight before her. She immediately scowled, clenching her jaw and balling up her fists in pure restrained fury.
Seinhou was slouched in the chair with a disappointed look on his face. He tossed the gray gun from the last encounter onto Crys' bed. "What a waste of my time." He said, not enthused whatsoever. "That entire test was less than helpful."
Crys growled. She couldn't bring herself to speak just yet.
"Now, that serum was supposed to last for an entire week." Seinhou added on, getting much more serious. "Either I somehow miraculously made a miscalculation in the dosage, or your willpower is much greater than I had anticipated."
Crys snarled, holding back as much of her anger as she could. She knew if she let herself say anything it would quickly devolve into screaming.
"And now nearly that entire test was for nothing." Seinhou continued.
"Why did you do it?" Crys said, with every word holding back every ounce of anger in her.
"I had to see how you would act without inhibition. I debated about attempting the test again in the future, but I fear that the results will be tainted." Seinhou said casually.
"You almost made me hurt my best friend!" Crys lashed out in fury, raising her voice drastically.
"Shouting will get you nowhere." Seinhou replied in a harshly calm tone. "None of them can hear you."
Crys felt a sharp jab of fear, assuming the worst. "What did you do to them?" She murmured, terrified.
"Sedative." Seinhou spit back flatly. "I can't have any of them listening in, after all."
Crys processed the info and shifted back to the first topic again once she realized Brandon and his family weren't hurt. "You made me nearly hurt him!" She shouted again, furious.
"I did nothing." Seinhou replied in his unnervingly calm tone. "It was your desire and decision to lash out at your boyfriend, I did nothing to influence that."
"You drugged me! I didn't have a choice! I couldn't think!" Crys shouted back, giving the only defense she had.
Seinhou stayed calm. "All I did was give you the freedom to do what you wanted. Attacking him is what you wanted."
"You- you would've just let me hurt him!?" Crys accused.
Seinhou gave a careless shrug.
Crys took a second to process Seinhou's reaction. She could barely believe it. "He's innocent and you were just going to let it happen!?" Crys spat back.
"The way I see it, he is just as guilty as you." Seinhou said in return. "If you happened to take care of him, then that's no problem of mine. All it would have done is gone to prove how much of a threat you are."
"He has a family!"
"So do all the people that your very existence endangers."
"You said your organization was supposed to help people!"
"I said it was to keep humanity from destroying itself."
Crys sat in mild shock, absolutely baffled by Seinhou's sheer lack of care.
A brief moment of silence took hold.
"Your willpower really is something, werewolf." Seinhou spoke up. "That serum was quite potent, so for you to stop yourself was quite the feat. I will have to keep that in mind for next time."
"Next time?" Crys murmured, worried.
"As I said before, taking away your inhibition again won't do much good. I have other plans in store that will take a different approach." Seinhou said. "Until then, don't let the bedbugs bite..."
Crys finally had enough and started to try and get out of bed, not caring what would happen to her, but as she started to move she felt the wave of exhaustion hit and she dropped like a rock.
Waking up the next morning, Crys found herself in an awkward and rather uncomfortable position on top of her bed. She sat upright and looked around. Her room was quiet. The alarm to wake her hadn't even gone off yet. She hung her head and sat in silence, feeling nothing but hollow on the inside. She would have cried, but she was so overwhelmed with what had happened last night that she couldn't even do that. It wasn't until her alarm sounded a few minutes later that she snapped out of her trance. She startled and looked around again before getting off her bed and started going through her morning routine mindlessly. After she had gotten dressed and went downstairs for breakfast, she saw Brandon already eating a bowl of cereal and suddenly snapped back to reality. She started to tear up.
"Crys?" Brandon asked, concerned, hearing Crys starting to cry. "What happened?"
"I-" She struggled to say anything. "H-He showed up again."
"Seinhou?" Brandon asked for confirmation.
Crys took a few steps closer to Brandon. "He did it. H-he did it for certain. He made me lose control of myself."
Brandon got up and took a step over to Crys. "Did he do it to you again?"
"No! No... He said- he said that it wouldn't work again because results tainted o-or something. B-but he said that there would be other tests other things he- I-" Crys stopped herself and hung her head.
Brandon reached out and took Crys' hand in his own. "I'm here for you, Crys." He said.
"Thank you..." Crys mumbled. She felt conflicted, still. Thankfully, some of the guilt from the day prior had dissipated, but she still felt somewhat responsible.
"Crys, you know it wasn't your fault, right?" Brandon asked, knowing Crys was probably still stuck on the guilt even though she didn't mention it.
Crys sighed. "I- you know I wanted to do it. Seinhou took away my control but... I still... I..."
"Crys, you know what else you did?" Brandon asked. He had thought of something to say last night before falling asleep.
Crys glanced up at Brandon.
"You stopped yourself." Brandon said.
Crys frowned. "I know." She said. "Please, you don't have to keep telling me."
"Crys," Brandon said, kindly yet firm, "sure, you wanted to hurt me, but you stopped yourself. You wanted to stop yourself, and you did it."
Crys took a moment to think about what Brandon said. "I wanted to stop myself...?" She said, still taking it in. She thought it over again, and suddenly it made sense to her. She wanted to stop herself. That's what she really wanted, and it's what she did. Crys gave a little nod.
"Does that make any sense?" Brandon asked.
"It does." Crys said. "I-I wanted to keep you safe. I wanted to help you more than..." She took a deep breath. "I'm still sorry."
"It's okay, Crys. Come on, we still need to get to school on time." Brandon replied.
Crys nodded again and gave Brandon a faint smile. She felt a bit better now, and a lot less guilty.
The two friends finished up their morning routine extra quick and made their way to school for the day hand in hand. The rest of the day for them would be peaceful, with Crys starting to feel a little more like her usual self.