A Werewolf? Seriously? Who: Madock and Gabe When: Afternoon, around two pm Where: Gabe's House
The whole way over to Gabe's house, Madock was wondering what he could possibly have to tell him. He thought of all the bad things first of course. He really wished he hadn't of, because by the time he got over to Gabe's, he was getting into thoughts of Claire being pregnant or something like that. He just hoped he was right in thinking that his twin would have told him something that huge. He knocked lightly on the door and waited for Gabe to answer.
Gabe was doing his best not to worry, feeling better now that he knew Madock knew at least one werewolf. Was dating one, in fact. This wasn't that big a deal in comparison, since it barely effected him. Well, not true, since they would be living together next year, and Gabe had a huge-ass cage to tote with him. "Hey," he smiled, opening the door. "Come on in. Want anything to drink?" he offered, since he himself was drinking a coke.
"Nah, I'm good." Madock said as he entered the house. "What's up?" he questioned, arching a brow at the boy. Please don't have my sister pregnant, I really don't want to fight with you. "Something wrong?"
"Noooo, nothing's wrong," Gabe said with a little laugh. "I've just... got something to tell you. Since we're gonna be living together and all. And we're going camping tomorrow. And I'm dating your sister. So... you should kinda know." With all that build up, Gabe realized he was probably freaking Madock out, but he really hated to just spring this on someone. "You know that accident I got in? About a month ago? Well, it wasn't really a four-wheeler accident."
Madock just sort of stared at him. "Okay... so you lied to me which makes me think it was something way worse than a four-wheeler accident. So... what happened?" he asked. He knew that Gabe wouldn't lie to him unless he felt that he had to lie. Or at least he hoped that was the case.
Gabe took a deep breath. This was never going to be easy to admit, even to a friend. "I got bitten by a werewolf," he said, and watched for a reaction, but visual and silent. Even if Madock said nothing, his heartbeat would give Gabe clues as to his reaction.
Most people would have been shocked. Madock though? Nope, not shocked, instead of freaking out, he laughed a little and shook his head. "Claire told you didn't she? I should have known you'd make some sort of jokes about it. Dude, a werewolf? Seriously? You could have come up with something so much better than saying you were one too."
Okay, so maybe shock would have been better. Gabe rolled his eyes and pulled his shirt over his head, as the only real proof he had was the bite mark on his shoulder. There was no mistaking the ragged bite of a monster. "Claire told me, but I already knew your girlfriend was a wolf. I can smell her," Gabe said. "That's the bite mark. You wanna see the cage in the basement?"
Okay, the shock started wearing in right about then and Madock stared, open mouthed at the bite. He swallowed and looked up at Gabe. "You're serious..." he said, finally closing his mouth again and trying to assess all of this. "Wait... wait, you let Claire stay with you last night?" he questioned. "Wh-why would you do that if you... if you know that you can like... I don't... a cage?"
"There was no reason to tell you if you and Claire went off to school in some other state," Gabe said with a shrug. "She knew, and Charlotte, but I hadn't told anyone else. Except my mom, who sewed me up when it happened." Lily had only found out a few days prior and that was because his scar had been exposed at Charlotte's pool party. He'd done his best to keep it covered, but that was harder to do in the water. "Claire stayed with me last night. It was my first full moon and... She was here when I changed, and here when I woke up. I... don't remember the inbetween. I have to lock myself up on the full moon."
Madock looked at him for a moment or two longer before shaking his head. "I think I need to sit down." he mumbled, making his way to the living room and sinking down onto the couch. He pinched the bridge of his nose and really tried to make sense of everything. "So there was no way that anything could have happened and no way she could have gotten hurt?" Madock questioned, looking up at Gabe again. "You made sure of that first, right? Made sure that nothing could happen to her?"
Gabe would have invited him to sit down in the first place, but Madock had been in such a hurry to hear what Gabe had to say that he hadn't gotten a chance to do so. "She wouldn't have been here if I thought she was in any kind of danger," Gabe said. The only thing that could have endangered Claire would have been her getting too close to the cage. Gabe had made her swear to keep her distance, no matter what. "She stayed on the other side of the bars. My mom was here, and Charlotte came to visit her."
That made Madock feel a little better, but there was still that worry in the pit of his stomach. Bitten weres couldn't control it. He knew that much. "I don't even know what to say." he admitted. At least now he knew why Claire knew so much about werewolves and the whole mating for life thing. He doubted seriously that it was all just books now. "I mean I'm not freaking out or anything... I guess I just... As long as nothing happens to Claire I'm fine." he shrugged. "I obviously don't like... hate on werewolves.. Jessalyn is, ya know. And maybe it's different because you got bitten, but it's kinda the same right?"
"I would never, ever put Claire in danger," Gabe said, feeling worse now that he'd told Madock because, in a way, he was lying. Claire was always in a tiny bit of danger when she was around him now, as were the rest of his friends. If something bad happened, if he got in a fight or got seriously injured, he could be forced to shift. That would be putting her in danger. "It's kinda the same, except I don't have control on the full moon. And I can be forced to shift in self-defense," he said, that concern growing. "If it would make you feel safer, I can stock tranquilizer guns at the house." That was assuming Madock was still comfortable living with him.
"So if like... there's a fight or something you'll just... shift?" he questioned. That would be self defense, right? Fuck, that made things complicated. Madock took a deep breath and tried to sort through everything. "Okay... so tranquilizers would work?" he questioned. "Like... say we got into a fight and you just... shifted, if I shot you, which by the way I really don't want to have to do, you'd just... go to sleep?"
Gabe rubbed his hands over his face, wishing there was an easier way to go about this. Unfortunately, there wasn't. Madock really needed to know this stuff. "Yeah, apparently," Gabe said. "It's never happened, and I've been working to make sure it doesn't, but the just-in-case is if it did. I'm really trying to stay away from fights." And Madock would know that took effort on Gabe's part, though the end of the year had been rather calm. "I haven't exactly tried the tranqs out, but that's how they're supposed to work. I'm not really up for target practice."
Madock nodded. "Okay... so... I try not to piss you off then. Check. And my sister says something stupid to aggravate you, you better walk away because if you hurt her... accident or not... we're gonna have some issues. And that's not being a dick or whatever, I just don't want her hurt and I know you wouldn't, but I just want to be sure..."
"It's not just being pissed off or aggravated," Gabe sighed. "I'd have to be driven into a rage. Start throwing punches at me and we might have a problem, and there's really nothing Claire could say that would push me that far. Do you really think I haven't thought of this? I'm not fuckin' around. When I say I wouldn't hurt her, I mean it." It annoyed him to no end that Madock thought he needed to emphasize Claire's safety when Gabe would hurl himself off a cliff before he put her in danger.
"Okay." Madock said nodding his head a little. "I know that. I really do know that you won't hurt her... I guess I just... just want like not a shadow of a doubt about it. She's my sister, you've known her for a while and you care about her like a shit load, I get that. I've known her my whole life, believe me, I get it. I just worry about her, that's all. But... it's okay. It's cool... so, this doesn't change us moving in or anything does it?" Madock questioned. "Do you like not want to or something? Or did you think that I wasn't going to want to move in with you after this? Wait, you could smell Jessalyn? I know that's totally not even on topic but I just realized you said that like forever ago, so... yeah, you smelled her? You knew she was a werewolf just by the way she smells?"
"I can't say without a shadow of a doubt cause things could happen. If someone shot at me, I could shift and put her in danger. Really unlikely, but it's possible. More likely we'll get in a car wreck or something, if you ask me," Gabe frowned. He was feeling bad about things now, uncomfortable with the situation, even if he didn't have a solution for it all. He was a danger to Claire. It was something he'd been ignoring, but now Madock made a point. "Doesn't change anything, unless you want it to. If you don't feel safe..." Which Madock obviously didn't. Shit. Maybe it had been a bad idea to tell him. Gabe didn't even address Jessalyn's scent, preoccupied with the rest of the conversation.
"Look... chances of anything happening that forces you to shift are pretty low." Madock said first. "Like... I doubt you're gonna get shot walking down the street, I'm not going to start throwing punches for anything, especially now. I mean, at least since you told me I know to not do anything stupid, ya know? Like I'm not going to get piss drunk and start cussing you up and down and swinging on you or anything. So what, one night a month you gotta be in a cage? I don't think it should change anything. You're my friend, I'm not going to just be like 'fuck you, you're a werewolf'. Obviously. I mean... Jessalyn. It's not completely the same, but sort of. I mean she's different, you're different, I'm different, what's the problem?"
Now Madock was talking like it wasn't a problem and Gabe could breathe again. Maybe it wouldn't be so bad. He had no reason to start freaking out. "I would never hurt her," Gabe repeated softly. Hopefully Madock understood how much he meant that. "I'm different, but we're a lot alike. We're both werewolves. I've just got that once a month thing with the full moon." He paused, then decided to ask, since it was Madock who put it on the table. "What do you mean 'you're different'?"
"Well she changes on the full moon too." he pointed out. "I saw her when she was a wolf. She's just... like... a wolf-wolf. Wait? What?" he questioned. Then Madock realized what he'd said. "Oh... well shit." he sighed, brushing his fingers through his hair. "Yeah... I'm different. Not like you though. I just... see things." he shrugged. "Never really found the right way to tell you... didn't want you to freak out about it I guess."
"Yeah, she can pick," Gabe nodded. "And she has control." That was the big difference. He wouldn't care near as much about the form if he could guarantee the safety of those around him. "You see things? Like Claire, or different?" He knew Claire didn't usually see things. She just had a feeling, but maybe that was what Madock was trying to say. It wouldn't surprise him, seeing as how they were twins. "Wouldn't freak me out now," he laughed. "That's usually my concern."
Madock took a step towards him and reached out to touch his shoulder. He immediately jerked his hand back though, almost like he'd been bitten. "God, I really, really shouldn't have done that." he said, shaking his head and pinching the bridge of his nose. "Yeah... okay, you have a cage... you woke up in it... and apparently clothes and were's don't mix. Lovely. I can die happy now that I've seen you naked. Touching is bad."
"My clothes ripped when I shifted," Gabe said, rolling his eyes. They saw guys in the locker room all the time, but he supposed that was the proper reaction, so he didn't question it. Insead, he teased. "Now you know all Claire has to look forward to," he snickered. "So how's that work? You touch people and you see things they did earlier that day?" It was cool, but he thought Claire's was much more useful an ability.
"Things period." Madock said, completely ignoring the comment about Claire. If he thought too much on it, he might get annoyed and that wasn't good. "Like... their past, I guess. It's not very fun. I can touch people or things and see where they've been, what they've done. It sucks sometimes though because like... like I could touch you and get you and Claire making out. Or like... Jessalyn can be touching me and I get this image of like... her parents talking to her or something. It's just aggravating sometimes." he shrugged. "I guess it's alright sometimes, but it's more aggravating that anything."
"So it's not based on what they're thinking or anything," Gabe asked. "It's just random? I could see how that would get old really fast." Especially when making out with a girl or something. What if Madock saw things that bothered him? Could he stop it from happening? Gabe wanted to ask more questions, but thought maybe it would be too invasive. "How long's this been happening to you? Like, do you see things all the time? How the hell did you get through playing football?" Because there was a lot of touching in football.
Madock nodded. "Random." he told him. "And it's always been like that I guess. I mean for as long as I can remember. I guess that's the better part of it all, it didn't just show up out of nowhere. I've always had to deal with it. As for football..." he sighed, shaking his head. "Yeah, that definitely sucks sometimes. Mostly the guys just have crap about screwing some girl or something like that. I mostly just ignore it."
"But how do you focus?" Gabe blurted out. He was thinking about himself in the same situation and wasn't all that sure he could have played football with another guy's porn flashing through his mind. "I think it's always easier when you're born with something. There's not this weird adjustment period. I'm still learning new things all the time," Gabe said with a little laugh.
"It's weird." Madock began. "Most of the time I can't focus on anything. My brain just... bounces around and I can't grasp anything, but when I'm playing football, everything just clicks into place and nothing else matters but the play, the ground beneath me, the people around me and getting the ball where it needs to be." He shrugged a little and wasn't sure if he was really explaining it as well as he wanted to. "I hope you get through your adjustment period." Madock told him, reaching out to pat the guy's shoulder. "But don't worry about me freaking out. It's cool. Nothing changes right? You're just a little more furry than normal sometimes." he teased.
It was good that when Madock really was focused on something, everything else seemed to fade out. Gabe figured that would happen with other things in life that he was really in tune to, though only time would tell. He wondered if Madock even realized that it happened in football until Gabe asked. It would explain why he loved the sport so much. "Nothing changes," Gabe grinned. "Except when Claire's complaining about your dirty socks next year, I'm gonna be right there with her," he laughed.
Madock chuckled and shook his head. "My socks are so not that bad." he argued. At least for a moment before he couldn't take that lie anymore. "Okay, so they are, but I'll wash laundry more. Can't have dirty socks around when you and Jessalyn both smell way better than me and Claire. I'll keep the filth to a minimum."
"Yeah, if not for me, do it for your girl. She's gotta appreciate it," Gabe smiled. It was definitely helpful that Jessalyn was a werewolf, as Madock might have a better time understanding it all. Plus, he'd be able to relate to Claire, which Gabe thought he might appreciate. Maybe. It might get annoying, but at least there wasn't another male wolf around the house. Hopefully Gabe wouldn't mind Jessalyn's scent on the full moon.
Looking down at his watch, Madock smiled. "Speaking of my girl, I should probably get going. I'm supposed to hang out with her today after work and stuff. We're cool though, right? No more secrets you'd like to spill?" he teased.
"That's it for today," Gabe laughed. Lucky for them both, there were none that needed spilling, not that he could think of off the top of his head. "Go have fun. And Jessalyn should know what I am, so don't worry about keeping it from her. I'll see you tomorrow. Looking forward to this camping trip."
"Alright." Madock smiled, getting up and tapping Gabe on the shoulder. "I'll see you tomorrow." he smiled. "Got my shifts switched so I'm all set. I'll see you then."
"See you, Korey," Gabe said, waving as he saw Madock out the door. He was feeling immensely better now that he'd spoken to Madock about being a werewolf. He hadn't realized how hard it had been keeping that secret until now. It felt good to have everything out on the table as they started their summer together, right before their new lives away at college.