The next day Evan was less worried than he had expected. He assumed that yesterday was to blame, and the memory of it brought a smile to his face. Especially when he remembered how they had eventually managed to convince Michael to join their game, and even though he had pretended afterwards to be tortured, Ryan revealed that he was saving his smile for home.
Angie's words also calmed him down. Apparently, she was trying to prepare Lola and Aiden for today, and although she didn't tell them anything specific, she told them that they had something important to tell them and made them promise to hear them out.
Even so, Evan was still a little nervous, so he was glad to have his boyfriend with him. Not to mention that he was successfully distracted by Angie's excitement at the fact that they were going to Marwell by car again since Michael was driving. And though he hadn't been thrilled about sleeping in a different city when Josh had invited him, he'd eventually agreed anyway, and so their little pack was complete for one night.
They had also agreed the night before that this time they would leave the explaining to Angie, since Evan had had the opportunity to do it many times before and she too wanted to feel the thrill of telling someone the biggest secret in the world. (At least, that's what she called it.)
Knowing how much it could make a person anxious, Evan was okay with that.
"Do you remember the way?" Ryan asked his cousin after a moment and Michael simply replied, "I do."
No one questioned his driving skills, and a few minutes later, to the sound of music, they found themselves in front of the same house as yesterday. Josh was waiting for them outside the garage, but the others were nowhere in sight.
"Looks like everyone's a little impatient today," was the first thing Josh said to them as they got out of the car.
"What do you mean?" Angie asked, beating Evan to the punch.
"You're the last ones here," he told them.
Evan's eyes widened in surprise. It seemed that his plan failed right off the bat, as he had planned for them to be here first and have time to mentally prepare. Before he could get unnerved, however, he felt Ryan's hand on his waist, and his tense immediately shoulders slumped.
"Apparently Angie promised them some huge surprise, so they were in a hurry," Josh added, smirking.
Evan looked reproachfully at his best friend, as she had obviously told him a different, milder version of what she had told the others yesterday, and she gave him an innocent look in return.
"Princess dumbass," Michael muttered but of course Angie heard him and swung a hand at him. The black-haired boy, however, was expecting it out of habit and gracefully ducked.
"How come I haven't heard that nickname before?" Josh seemed pleasantly surprised, unlike Angie, who punched him in the shoulder as a precaution to make him forget that nickname quickly.
"No more nicknames," Angie warned everyone with a warning finger, and Evan threw up his hands in surrender since he wasn't planning on using one anyway.
"I don't like them any more than you do," Ryan assured her, and Evan and Michael exchanged a quick look of amusement as they realised what he was referring to.
"I'm sensing a story there," Josh noted their glances, "but I'd love to see the shocked faces of our friends sooner rather than later. So, are we going in?"
No one protested, and together they made their way to Josh's living room, where Lola, Kieran, Rory, and Aiden were already sitting. Aiden and Rory were looking at his phone, with Rory eagerly explaining something and the blonde nodding interestedly, while Lola and Kieran were chatting about something with small smiles on their faces. However, when the five of them walked in, all eyes turned to them.
"Hey, guys." Lola stood up with enthusiasm and walked over to her friend, arms outstretched, and gave her a hug. The boys didn't copy the gesture, so the new arrivals simply sat down on the floor with their friends, and Josh made his way to the kitchen so he could get them something to drink.
"I was told you have a surprise for us." Aiden didn't hesitate, his gaze locking with Evan's even as he turned in his seat so that he could see both him and the cousins who were both sitting on each side of him.
"Wow, I was at least expecting to hear how you're doing first." Evan gripped his chest in a hurt gesture. Aiden rolled his eyes at him in response, then said in a high-pitched tone, "How are you?"
"Great and you?" he asked with a sweet smile.
"Impatient," the blond replied. "You didn't invite me to the boys' night last night and leave me with two of them." He nodded his head towards the two girls. "You owe me."
The mentioned girls fortunately didn't hear him, too engrossed in their shared conversation. Evan and Michael laughed at his words, and Ryan, too nice as usual, just shook his head in amusement.
"Sounds like a good argument to me," Michael acknowledged.
"I've always liked you," Aiden told him, not caring that that always was more or less only a week. No one pointed that out, though, and Michael even nodded as if it was a known fact.
"Do I even want to know what exactly Angie promised?" Evan interjected. He'd just learned a moment ago that the version his friend had told him was pretty embellished, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know how much.
"Rather not," Aiden told him honestly. "Just know that I doubt you can live up to my expectations." Michael snorted at that, and the blonde gave him a brief confused look.
"I think you'll be surprised," Ryan said, finally joining the conversation. Evan knew Ryan was a good listener, but he always enjoyed hearing him engage in conversation with his friends. Especially after how worried he'd been about introducing him to Aiden.
"What did we miss?" Josh walked into the room with the glasses, and Kieran followed right behind him, carrying a bottle of lemonade. Evan didn't even notice when he disappeared from the room.
"Nothing," Aiden replied. "I'm still waiting for the promised surprise."
"And I thought you came here for my company," was Josh's instant reply.
"Don't mind him," Lola echoed, rolling her eyes before explaining. "Angie teased us yesterday about rocking our world." She said it in a tone that suggested she didn't quite believe it.
"That's still today's plan," the brunette retorted, adding some gesticulation to prove her point.
"How about we start with something less complicated instead?" Josh suggested, setting the glasses down on the table, and Evan stood up straight to take his glass, Kieran automatically pouring lemonade into it for him. He thanked him and then glanced over his shoulder, asking his boyfriend a question with his eyes, and when he nodded, he took another glass for him as well, repeating the process.
"We can watch a movie," Lola suggested, and Aiden grunted. Apparently, he didn't agree with that plan.
"Do you perhaps have a better idea?" The blue-haired girl challenged him.
"I'm still waiting for the best surprise of my life."
Evan sat back in his spot between the two black-haired boys and handed his mate the glass, earning a peck on the cheek. Only then did he turn his attention to his friends. "And this is what happens when we leave things to Angie." His words were addressed to everyone, though his gaze was directed to Josh and Kieran.
"Hey!" Angie protested. "It's not my fault Aiden's impatient."
"I would be, too, if you'd tell me something like that," Rory defended him. "Lola's just too used to you to be swayed by that."
Angie gave the girl next to her a smile as if she had just heard the greatest compliment on their friendship, and of course, Lola returned it.
"You know what this is about?" Aiden shifted his attention to Rory, who hesitated for a moment, giving away his answer.
"Does everyone else know something I don't? Again?" Aiden frowned.
"I have no idea what's going on either," Lola assured him, but she was the only one. That seemed to surprise even her, as she cast a confused glance around the living room.
"I promise you, even though you're the last one who doesn't know, it's not on purpose," Evan quickly interjected.
"Is this your explanation?" The blond turned to him immediately.
"Kinda," Evan admitted when he realised what he was referring to. "It'll all come together, I promise."
"Okay, this is taking too long," Angie interjected, clearly getting restless. "We're werewolves. There, I said it."
"We?" Lola asked at the same moment as Aiden said in a loud tone, "Really funny, guys!"
At this point, it was clear to Evan that leaving the explanation to Angie was not a good idea, and he decided to save the situation.
"Just watch." He got his attention and then stretched his hand out in front of him. And just like he'd shown Josh and Kieran last week, he clenched his fist and then opened it in a swift motion, letting his claws come out.
"What the fu-" Aiden didn't even finish his sentence in shock and automatically moved backward a little, supporting himself with his hands behind him.
"If this is some kind of prank..." Even Lola had no idea how to react.
"Which is exactly why you shouldn't have left the explaining to Angie," Michael spoke up.
"You wouldn't even tell them, so shut up," she retorted back.
"It's not a prank," Evan continued, his voice still serious, though he had no idea how to explain such a thing. "We can show you more if you like," he suggested.
"We as in?" Lola repeated her earlier question.
"Us," Angie replied, pointing at herself before waving her hand in the direction of Evan, Ryan, and Michael.
"Real werewolves?" Aiden asked to make sure, still in disbelief.
Evan sighed and stood up, and Angie immediately understood what he meant to do and did the same. "The bathroom?" He turned to Josh, and he was immediately on his feet as well. "I'll show you."
"Give us a minute," Evan said to his friends in the doorway and followed Josh into the bathroom. He was sure that if Aiden had any questions in the meantime, Ryan would be able to answer them for him.
"You really failed big time," he said to Angie the minute they found themselves alone between the four walls.
"I panicked," she admitted. "I don't know how you did it. It's scary." Until now, Evan hadn't realised how much his best friend was actually freaking out on the inside.
Evan turned his back on her, not because he was offended by her, but because he began to undress. He had no idea if she did the same, but he assumed she did.
"I know," he returned to the conversation. "Believe me, I regretted at the time that I didn't have more time to think about what to say, but obviously it doesn't matter," he admitted.
"Do you think it'll be alright?" Another emotion appeared in Angie's voice - concern.
"I'm positive," Evan replied, surprising himself by actually being 100% sure of his words. Maybe it was because he was sure of Rory, Kieran, and Josh's support, and so he believed that nothing could go wrong.
"Just don't hit Aiden if he says something stupid," Evan chuckled before throwing off the last of his clothes.
"Easier said than done."
He didn't have time to answer her as he felt his body pull him to the ground, and before he could get his hands on the floor, they turned into paws. When he turned around, he saw that Angie was in wolf form as well, so they were both ready.
There was only one thing left to do.