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It was just going to be a one time thing. No big deal. But to Oz he felt like he was about to tredge into full on hell.
That’s what he got for befriending a bunch of party animals. Almost every night was a fucking ordeal with them; even the school nights. There always had to be something going on. Of course Oz was free to pass on any of their expeditions as everyone understood him to be a bit recluse. But it was their senior year and Oz wanted just as much as the others to send this year off with a bang. And what better way to do that then snort copious amounts of cocaine off the body of your drunkest classmate surrounded by your closest friends?
Really this year hadn’t been so bad. He managed to survive all four years of high school without his clique falling apart. The quartet remains stronger than ever and yet all of them had found a way to expand their circle a little bit.
And yes that included oz.
It may not have been entirely by his own doing but Oz was happy to say that he had found a couple of new friends on his own. One of them being the charming Scott Howl.
It was strange how well they seem to click what with Oz being as quiet as he was as of a literal epitome of darkness and fear, while Scott was a burst of energetic sunshine. Oz found what he lacked in confidence Scott made up with just that. So even though he’d come home drained after days of conversation with the werewolf, Oz found a sense of self fulfillment and warmth whenever he hung out with him.
So much so that he accidentally developed a crush on him.
Oh well. No big deal. Oz would just retreat to his shell whenever he came in contact with him so not to make him uncomfortable. He couldn’t fathom the idea of the most popular jock in school wanting to go out with a recluse such as him. But even then he knew they could still be friends.
And that that alone made him comfortable enough to just casually mentioned that he was going to the fright fest this Friday night.
Oz didn’t miss the way Scott ears perked up with the news.
“Bro! That’s totally great!” He beamed. “I’ll be bro-ing it out there y’know like a bro. Maybe I’ll catch you there.”
Oz was so touched at the fact that he was excited to see him that he missed a bit of anxiousness behind his eyes. He smirked back and gave a thumbs up. If Scott was delighted to see him there what could possibly go wrong?
Later that night as he was getting ready for the festival, his fearlings were going insane. Oz tried to pat them down as he combed his hair but it was no use. He felt nerves bubble up inside him; premonitions of failure to come. What if Scott didn’t like him? What if he said something awkward? What if—
His thoughts are interrupted by someone grabbing him from behind and spinning around once before clumsily setting him down. As he regains his balance, he turns around to glare at his attacker
“What was that for?”
Amira laughs in his face. “Calm down Oz I was just being funny.” She relaxes a smile as she helps Straighten Oz‘s collar out. “Seriously I just thought you should loosen up. You seem tense.”
Oz can’t help but sigh heavily. “I’m fine. Just a bit nervous is all but I’m fine. You know me.”
Amira smiles at him with...pity?”
“Just try to enjoy yourself. We’ll all be there if you need us.” She frowns. “Well we’ll probably be getting it on with Polly and Liam while Brian sets something on fire with Damien but you get the point. Everything will be fine.”
“Easy for you to say. You guys have been on thousands of dates before. This is a walk in the park for you.”
Oz hadn’t even brought Scott over to their place before. The other three didn’t know anything about him aside from him being adorably funny and sweet. He couldn’t help but feel like he was falling behind.
Amira gives him a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “Well tonight is gonna be just that, buddy. You’ll be walking in the park! Because the party is literally in the park.”
Oz shrugs, but stares at the mirror and watches as some of the fearlings disappear into his body. She’s right. Even if there is a little chaos it would still be considered a normal for the kids at Spooky High.
“Besides” she says. “I’d really like to meet this ‘good boy’ of yours. Gotta make sure he’s the right material for our Oz.”
Oz groans. “Please don’t embarrass me”
Amira chuckles evily. “No promises.”
As expected, the fest is overwhelmingly amazing. No monster could walk 3 feet without getting stuck into some kind a game. Like a farmers market, there are booths lined up with all sorts of things and at the center of huge table full of food, candy and assorted drinks, some of which are definitely alcoholic. Hundreds of monsters mill about, joking and laughing and for a little bit it actually puts Oz at ease. Things are off to a good start.
“What’s up, fuckers?!”
Oz swivels his head to find Damien running at Brian full speed. Tackling him to the ground sends one of his arms flying and when they compose themselves Brian gives Damien a dejected look.
“All rigggght! Amputation! Fuckin metal!”
“Mmf.” Brian grabs his loose arm and gets to his feet with Damien’s help. The demon boy grins sly and expectant and Brian can’t help but smirk.
“Wanna go burn something down?”
“ABSOLUTELY.”
Without another word, the two speed of on an arson adventure.
Oz snickers and turns back to Amira and Vicky. “Well they’re quite a pair.”
Amira laughs back, but Oz notices Vicky look past his shoulder. When he sees who she’s looking at, his stomach does an odd flip inside him.
Making his way through the crowd is none other than Scott Howl, beloved athlete by many. He makes his rounds to everyone he knows before making eye contact with Oz. After politely excusing himself, he bounds over toward Oz and scoops him up into a tight hug.
“Oz! Bro! I’m so glad you made it!”
Oz feels his face flush at the prospect of his crush holding him close, but even through the high, he can’t help but sense that something is wrong. Whenever Scott was truly excited, his tail would wag all sorts of crazy ways but now it just hung down. Oz gave him a gentle pet on his folded back ears before he was gently lowered to the ground.
“I’m glad you could make it buddy. There’s so many things to do, to eat. To SMELL?? I can’t believe it’s your first time to one!”
Oz shrugs. “ yeah I don’t get out a lot” he says shyly. He notices Vicky standing by expecting.
“Oh yeah. Scott, these are my friends Vicky and Amira. Guys, this is Scott.”
Amira warmly shakes his hand. “Nice to meetcha!”
Vicky raises an eyebrow. She’s quiet until Scott speaks.
“It’s nice to meet you, Vicky!”
“You’re a werewolf.”
The party doesn’t stop but activity between the four of them does. Amira and Oz look confused. Scott laughs.
“ I am! Thank you for noticing!”
“Why are you here?”
Oz glares at her, embarrassed and angry.
“Vicky.”
“Oz” she challenges back. “There’s a lot of things at this party.”
“Oh yeah!” Scott pipes up. “Like cake and strobe lights and water balloons, regular balloons, FIRE balloons...”
Oz pulls Vicky away from Scott for a moment knowing that he’ll be able to go on forever with that. Right now he decides to deal with her.
“What’s up with you? You’re acting like a Bitch.”
“Oz,” she says. “Do you notice anything weird about this party? Anything?”
Oz decides to humor her for a bit and looks around. He can’t say he does.
Everyone is wandering about, having a good ol fuckin time. Everyone except them that is.
“No,” he says plainly. Vicky huffs a breath.
“Scott is the only werewolf here!”
Oz admits to himself that he finds that odd but he doesn’t know what makes that a problem. Scott has the right to party whether the Wolfpack is around or not. He looks over to Scott to find him pouncing on some fireflies.
“So?”
“Don’t you think there’s a logical reason for that? Every fright fest is different. There’s certain events that certain species can’t handle.”
“ I think Scott can handle himself just fine.” Finally fed up with Vicky’s antics ,he goes over and pulls Scott up by the arm.
“Cmon Scott lets get out of here.”
Scott gets up and looks at him forlornly.
“Oh! But we just got here! Are you sure?”
“I don’t mean out of the party I just mean away from this clown.”
Vicky deadpans him while Scott’s face lights up.
“Wow you didn’t tell me that! Can they make balloon animals? Can they ride unicycles?...
Oz sighs at the adorable werewolf and pulls him away from his friends.
“We’ll talk later,” he says walking away.
“Oz wait!”
But it’s too late. The two of them disappear into the crowd.
Vicky doesn’t know what to do so she just grabs Amiras hand and drags her in the opposite direction.
“Whoa, Vick, where we headed?”
“To find Polly and Liam. somethings funky but I’ll be damned if we don’t have fun in the meantime.”
******************
Surprisingly Scott and Oz are able to have fun by themselves. Part of his nerves have been due to fear that Scott would find him boring or simply not like him. But despite his fears he was having the time of his life.
They hit nearly every activity. Water balloon fights, relay races, even friendship bracelet making which they each have their respective piece to. And now they were both enjoying the sweetest ice cream he had ever tasted. As the night wore on, both boys became more and more comfortable. Only thing was that Scott’s tail wouldn’t wag but that left Oz unfazed. He couldn’t believe he got to spend this time with a crush. Maybe,he thought , when this was all said and done they would be able to go to prom together.
That thought warranted a giggle from him that did not go unnoticed by Scott. The jock gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder and asked him what was up.
“Oh it’s nothing,” Oz says. He feels tingly and bubbly inside. It definitely isnt nothing. Nothing that can be ignored. He wants Scott to know how much he feels. There was not much to say but he knew that if Scott felt the same way then there will be lots to discuss. All he has to do is confess his feelings.
That’s it. He could do it right now.
Oz takes a deep breath and turns toward him.
“Scott?”
Scott stops eating his ice cream a bit to look down toward his friend.
“Yeah, little buddy?”
Time to pop the big question. Scott is sitting right there. Oz opens his mouth to say something...and nothing comes out.
He can’t do it. The idea of sweet good boy Scott turning him down is just too much to bear. Oz feels a lump grow in his throat.
“I need to go to the bathroom.”
Scott lets him go, any hints of expecting a proposal going unseen and as soon as he rounds the corner, he dashes for the restroom, letting a few frustrated tears out in private. He knew this night would end in disappointment and he would have to face Vickys prejudice ass sooner or later. At least everything would go back to normal.
After using the bathroom and washing up, he heads out to cut the night early and say goodbye to Scott. The sooner he could go sit in dark in bed the better.
But when he rounds the corner he sees that Scott and his ice cream are gone.
Figures. He was probably making the big guy feel bad. It was only a matter of time before people got bored of him.
Oh well. Oz trudges away from the spot with a broken heart going to see what his friends are up to.
Even though he’s done for the night, the party seems to be going on stronger than ever. He comes across a section of the party that reeks of weed and Vape juice. Students around this part are getting way for friskier than he’s used to and he averts his eyes as he walks past a particularly raunchy orgy. Seriously, people were allowed to get away with anything at this school.
In his hasty escape he almost misses a familiar face.
“Hey, Boo!”
He turns around to find Polly sat up against a tree smoking a huge blunt. He can tell by her features that she has been smoking for a while and wonders how big it was at the beginning of it’s life.
“Hi Polly,” he gives a small wave and saunters over.
He remembers that Polly is friends with Scott as well. That’s how they had met after all. Maybe she can give him some pointers on how to woo the big guy.
He sits down just as she sighs a big plume of smoke out.
“Some party, huh?” She cooes. “These kids really know how to sex it up; I think they could go all night long.”
Oz hums in response. He could count himself out of that group. As high as she is, Polly picks up on Oz’s disposition.
“What’s the matter, boo?”
Oz twiddles his thumbs together. Polly is a lot easier to talk about feelings with than Scott, but then again this was Scott they were talking about. Whatever he said could and would be held against him.
He took a deep breath.
“Have you ever loved someone so much that you knew you had to say something for your own sake? Or else you’d die knowing they never told you how they felt?”
Polly looks at Oz strangely, a weird sorrow taking over her face. She heaves a sigh.
“Yeah. I’ve made that mistake before. I’m pretty sure that’s how I died.”
Oz looks at her, wide eyed. “For real??”
Polly tries to keep it together long enough to darken the mood, but a smile cracks her face and she bursts out laughing.
“Of course not, silly! I know for a fact I wouldn’t have died over something as mundane is that.”
Oz blushes, somehow more embarrassed and Polly throws an arm over him in pity.
“Look, bud. The truth is I don’t have time for hangups like that. No one does. The best way to stay true to yourself is to admit your feelings and go. If they like you, then great! and if they don’t, well then they’re being honest with you. You have to be honest with yourself because if you just dance around your feelings, that’s fake. And no one likes a fake bitch.”
Oz blinks. “Holy shit, Polly. What was in that thing?”
Polly just laughs. “That was all me, baby.”
For a while they just sit in silence while Oz mulls over his options, but of course, Polly can’t get enough of the juicy gossip.
“Soooooooo...who’s the boy?”
Oz’s face flushes again. This would be hard but he knows Polly is his friend. He picks at his collar.
“A certain...good boy...” he mumbles.
It doesn’t take long for Polly to figure out who he was talking about. Her glazed eyes light up and she wraps Oz up in a tight hug that immediately takes his breath away.
“OH MY GAWWWWWWD! Sweet Oz has the hots for sweet Scott! OMGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!”
Oz scrambles to shush her. “Shhh! I don’t want anyone to hear!”
“Who CAAAARES!? Scott needs to hear this! Remember what we talked about?”
“Uh, yes, but—“
“Good! ‘Cause I don’t remember a damn thing!” She says, wiggling her blunt and pulls Oz up to a standing position.
“So. When are you gonna drop the bomb on him?”
Oz laughs nervously. “Well, I was planning on telling him tonight.”
Polly gleames. “Oh how romantic! You could stand outside his bedroom window all ‘say anything’ style. Or maybe you could write him a song and perform it in theater! He’d be tickled fucking pink!”
“Actually I was planning on asking him here, tonight,” he admits. “That’s why I came here with him.”
As soon as the words tumble out he can’t help but feel like it was a bad idea. Polly’s face drops to one of dread and horror.
And not the fun kind.
“Tell me you’re joking.”
“I’m as serious as a heart attack. What’s wrong? I thought you were happy for me.”
Polly covers her eyes with her hands.
“Oz! It’s the third Friday of the month! Tonight they’re showing fireworks! FIREWORKS! Scott is terrified of fireworks! All of the Wolfpack is! Why do you think there’s no we’re wolves here tonight!?”
Oz suddenly feels sick to his stomach. This was his fault. Scott was here because of him. And now he had lost him.
That was another problem. And it was going to be harder telling Polly. But like she said, things would get better the sooner you acknowledge them.
So he does just that.
“Polly I...I lost him.”
Before the ghost can answer him, the two are interrupted by a thunderous crack in the sky. For one horrible second, the sky lights up in a spectacular array of reds blues and greens. Yards away they hear the crowd cheer in delight but Oz knows that one voice is being smothered in the fun.
Polly takes his shoulders at arms length.
“We have to find him!”
It’s up to him to come up with a plan. He knows he works better alone. And to cover enough ground, they’ll have to make some compromises.
“We should split up,” he suggests. Polly nods vigorously.
“Good idea. You check the woods. I’ll check the main grounds.”
Oz has a suspicion that Polly is probably using this as an excuse to get high again but he doesn’t push it. Instead, they split ways and set out to find their friend.
It’s getting darker and the fireworks are only getting stronger, much to Oz’s dismay. It’s getting harder and harder to find Scott and he considers turning back to get a search party together. But that takes way too long and he can’t drag anymore people into this mess.
He’s conscious over how much he’s freaking out. His fearlings have returned full-fledged and he feels like his skin is crawling. But Oz isn’t scared for himself. He’s scared for Scott.
“Scott!!!!!!”
Activity huddles in his mind and he tries to shush it, listening for a response.
Nothing.
He hates himself for letting this happen. In a bout of rage, Oz swings around and punches the nearest thing he can find. Unfortunately for him, that turns out to be a tree branch reeling back against a trunk of
another and the force of his punch has released it. It hits Oz square in the face, sending him tumbling downhill.
He only plummets about 20 feet but along the way, gets his fair share of cuts and scrapes before landing on his ankle on the solid ground.
He takes a moment in silence to regain his breath and throws up his hands in frustration.
“ARGHHH!!!!!!”
At that moment, the universe decides to line up the stars for him. In between firework shots, Oz is able to pick up on the unmistakable sound of a sniffle. His eyes dart left.
“Hello?”
It takes a minute for his eyes to adjust in the dark. But when they do, Oz can make out the shape of some fallen trees creating a canopy over the ditch. And in that shadow he finds a smaller one, quivering up against the wall.
“...Scott?”
The werewolves breath hitches at the mention of his name but Oz takes that as permission to crawl closer to the frightened boy.
He’s shaking uncontrollably and the small whimpering noises are not going unnoticed. Oz can see that Scott is down on his knees and fore arms with his tail tucked between his legs and ears flattened back against his head. Oz holds out a hesitant hand.
“Scott...”
Right then, a huge firework decides to rip it’s way through the sky with a thunderous crack. Scott yelps, jolting himself up against the tree, smacking his head on it. He doesn’t seem to register the pain, absolutely overcome with fear. Oz holds his hands out in assurance.
“Hey hey, buddy. It’s ok. You’re gonna be ok.”
Scott decides to go for his hands, grabbing them fiercely. Oz jumps a little at the motion and notes how sweaty his mitts are but he doesn’t mind. Whatever to comfort Scott.
He edges himself into the little hideaway so he can get close enough to give a security hug. Scott swallows him up in an embrace.
“Oz!” He hiccups. “I’m scared I don’t know what to do I shouldn’t have left the pack I’m scared I shouldn’t have come here!”
Oz shushes him gently, combing his fur through his fingers when a realization comes to him. Scott is one of the most popular kids in school, which means he’s likely come to everyone of these parties. Which means he’s likely aware of the event lineup. That’s why he was the only wolf pack member to show up. They were all hiding away from the fireworks.
That’s why Vicky had been so shocked to see Scott there. She’d been hanging out with Liam so often that she likely picked up this werewolf knowledge from him.
So now that he understood that, there was still something left unanswered. He held Scott at arms length.
“Then why did you come?”
Scott sniffled, swiping his wrist across his nose. “You said it was your first time to one of these things. I wanted to make it special.” His voice starts to wobble. “I-I thought I could make it.”
Oz’s heart breaks at the sight of a quivering lip but even more so at his sweet sacrificing nature. He couldn’t fathom someone going to lengths like Scott had for one night.
He tsks Pityingly and wraps Scott in a hug once more. Soothing hushes and soft hiccups is all the sound that occupies the space until Oz speaks up once more.
“Y’know,” he whispers. “I would’ve much preferred a night in to this fright fest.” He was horrified to find Scott shaking against him until he realized he was laughing.
“Yeah,” he answers quietly. “Me too.”
Oz uses this moment to take in their surroundings. From the woods, there’s almost a clear shot back to the fest and he knows that once they get there he’ll be able to make it back to the house on their own. Problem is, the fireworks are still going off and his twisted ankle is bound to slow them down.
He has a plan.
“Scott. Carry me.”
The werewolf complies without protest. Oz secures himself onto him piggyback style with Scott’s arms supporting his legs. He holds his hands up so they both can see. In the starlight, they watch as two fearlings materialize themselves onto Oz’s index fingers. He then settles them inside Scott’s ears gently.
“How’s that?” He tries.
“WHAT??”
Oz grins. “Perfect.”
He takes the fingers out of his ears to give him directions back to his place and once clear, they head off in search of sanctuary.
Because of the dampened sound, Scott is able to relax and the two can admire the beautiful sky shining down from above. Scott shouted out names of his favorite constellations as they came across them. It was loud but it was safe and it was good. And Oz feels content.
When they reach the house it’s evident that no one has returned yet so he must unlock the door first. They’re far enough that the fireworks have resorted to a faint popping. Still, they rush inside eager to escape the pressures of the outside world. This one is warm and quiet.
Oz leads Scott down the hall toward the living area. Both are exhausted. The high has come down from Scott’s freak out and oz wants nothing more than to shut his ankle out in the solitude of sleep. He can’t send him away like this.
“Y-you should sleep here,” he offers. “If you want.”
Scott smiles, weary but grateful. “Bro I’d love that.”
As tired as they are, they stand around in awkward silence, neither one wanting to close off with a goodnight. Scott clears his throat.
“Uhm, So usually after an incident like that the Wolfpack takes it upon themselves to kind of snuggle the fear out of each other so...I was just wondering...if you were okay...”
Scott doesn’t have to keep going like this. Oz grabs his hand and leads him to the bedroom. When he lays down comfortable enough, Scott curls up beside him. He actually yawns, nuzzling into his shoulder and Oz thinks he might just melt then and there.
“I’m glad we found each other,” he murmurs.
Oz thinks about the events that have lead up to this. He decides that he wouldn’t want it any other way.
“Me too, buddy.”
And he hopes that this won’t be a one time thing.