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They were all currently spread out on the floor of Jamie's living room, lazily passing a bottle of cheap wine around while a movie ran in the background. None of them were really paying attention to that though, more caught up with each other than anything that was going on around them.
When Aff passed the bottle over to Sasha again, with quite a bit left, she emptied it without a second thought. Cameron gave a low whistle at that. “I thought you didn't roll at parties?” he asked teasingly, as she placed the bottle in the middle of their little circle. So far, she'd been the one who'd had the least alcohol between them. Now, Cam wasn't so sure anymore.
“Well I'm not at a party, am I,” she shot back, and the smile forming on her lips already told them she had a plan. “It's not like I need to keep my guard up when it's just you losers being around.”
“Thanks, we love you too,” Jamie interrupted, quite pleased when his lame comment got a giggle out of Aff at least. Stupidly adorable.
Sasha just rolled her eyes though, not rising to take the bait. “Whatever. Anyway, now that we got this,” saying that, she picked up the bottle again, giving it a slight shake to get their attention, “let's make this evening a little bit more interesting.”
“Not that I'm opposed to it, but do we really need a game of spin the bottle to make out with each other?” Cam asked amused, though he was already more alert, definitely interested. “I kinda thought we were beyond that stage.”
“Let's make it truth or dare then, maybe that makes things more interesting,” she suggested.
Jamie looked sceptic at first, and couldn't help but take a look around the room again. “Fine,” they agreed then. “But if you break anything we can't cover up, you're the one explaining it to my mom.”
“Oh hush, we're not that stupid,” Sasha sighed, before finally turning to Aff, the only one in their group who hadn't voiced an opinion yet.
“Yeah, sure, I'm up for anything,” they agreed quickly, giving the group a smile that seemed slightly tipsy but definitely excited. “I mean, I've never played spin the bottle before, so-”
“How have you never played spin the bottle before?” Cam asked incredulously, before Aff had a chance to start to ramble. “It's like, the game you play as a teen. Or pre-teen, you know, because we were all young at stupid at some point.”
Jamie's sceptical “were?” was easily drowned out in Aff's laughter, which sounded a bit too self-conscious for their friends taste though. “I dunno, I was never really invited to any parties, you know. I just never got the chance, I guess.” They didn't mention that it was mostly because no one wanted to invite the kid who broke their classmate's nose just for calling them a girl, but the uncomfortable shift in posture was enough to tell everyone that the question had hit a bit too close for comfort.
So before the tension could get awkward, Sasha spoke up again. “Good thing we're here to remedy that then. Would you like to start?”
Aff shrugged at first but then nodded, reaching for the bottle in her hand as they all started to form a proper circle. It felt more exciting than it probably should at their age, as everyone waited with baited breath for the first person to be chosen.
Naturally, it landed on on Cam. Who immediately started waggling his eyebrows at Aff with a suggestive smile. “Dare.”
Aff bit their lip, almost looking nervous if the others couldn't see them fighting a smirk that badly, as they briefly looked between Cam and the others. Jamie groaned. “Oh please, just kiss him already.”
And they did.
As expected, the first few rounds of the game were spend with almost nothing but smooching each other. It was fun, but after a while they actually started to throw in some other challenges as well. Some embarrassing questions here and there, daring each other to take silly photos, or to eat something gross.
When Aff ended up almost tossing their cookies because they insisted on finishing the sandwich that Cam had slapped together (consisting of three different condiments, a thin slice of raw beef, half a marshmallow, three gummy worms, and a spoonful of the mystery leftovers from the fridge), they all finally decided to take a break though.
They ended up in a pile on the couch again, Aff stretched out over Sasha's and Jamie's laps, and their head in Cam's. The boy was trying to make up for the stupid food challenge by running his hands through Aff's hair and gently scratching his nails over their scalp, just the way they liked it.
“If you get food poisoning because of this I'm going to kick your ass,” he muttered, gently flicking Aff's nose when they started to grin again.
“Yeah, I think it's a bit late for that,” Jamie chuckled, while Sasha rolled her eyes again and snuggled closer to them. “But if it gets worse, I can whip something up that should help.”
Aff just shook their head, eyes still gleefully closed as they enjoyed their partners' undivided attention. “Nah, I'm good. Actually, if this is the way you guys react, I might try this more often.”
“I think I'm with Cam on this one,” Sasha spoke up. “You only get to choose truth from now on, and it's your own fault.”
Aff made a disgruntled noise, mostly because it had been their first time being able to play at all and apparently they'd immediately managed to get themselves banned from part of it. But then again. “That's fine, truth is fun,” they muttered eventually, nuzzling a bit closer to Cam again.
“Of course it is, everyone likes talking about themselves,” Jamie said, and surprisingly, it didn't come out as snarky as it could have. “Especially if you give people an excuse to spill their secrets.”
“Well, some secrets,” Sasha interrupted. “Some things you keep to yourself. It's a fun way to start rumours though.”
“Isn't that like, against the rules?”
She chuckled softly and reached over, gently cupping Aff's face for a moment. “Darling, I got so much to teach you.”
Jamie grinned and pressed a kiss to Sasha's temple. “Maybe wait a bit longer before you corrupt them as well, I quite like them like this.”
“Oh, oh no, corrupt me all you want,” Aff said quickly, effectively getting the other's attention again. “I mean, if you want to. It sounds fun.”
The others couldn't help but laugh at that, and it soon turned into a fully blown laughing fit for all four of them, continuously egging each other on and relapsing back into it before anyone had the chance to get themselves back under control. When they did finally calm down, still letting out the occasional giggle, Cam was the first to speak up.
“Alright, anyway, does anyone wanna continue playing?” he asked, wiping at his face to get rid of the tear tracks. They hadn't laughed like this in a while, especially not for such a ridiculous reason. Maybe that was the alcohol speaking, though he felt nearly sober again by now.
“I would, but I'm also, like, really comfortable right now,” Aff sighed. “Can we do this without moving?” As if to prove their point, they wrapped their arms around Cam's waist, refusing to leave their spot.
Cam chuckled softly. “I guess we could settle on just asking each other weird questions, if that's what you want.” Aff didn't protest at least, and Jamie and Sasha seemed satisfied enough with that solution as well. It was as good a way as any to pass the time, especially when they were all starting to get tired.
“Alright, I'll start,” Sasha said finally, when no one else made any move to do it. “Everyone's first kiss. Go.” Aff and Cam shared a look and started giggling again, and even Jamie had to bite their lip to not join in once more. Sasha looked predictably confused. “What, what did I miss?” she asked.
“Canoe kiss,” Jamie told her, and as understanding dawned on her face, Cameron hit their shoulder in fake outrage.
“You said you wouldn't tell anyone!”
“Not unless offered the right information in return, so don't act surprised,” they chuckled, leaning in a bit to kiss the pout off his face, which worked maybe a little bit too well.
But Sasha interrupted them before they could get lost completely, gently tugging on Jamie's sleeve. “So who was your first kiss then? You didn't answer yet.” Jamie pulled back from Cam again with a sigh, reaching out with one hand though to intertwine their fingers. Cameron appreciated it, gently starting to rub his thumb over the soft skin of the back of their palm.
“Well, this is going to be embarrassing, but- I don't remember,” Jamie told them. At Sasha's unbelieving look, they tried to wave it off. “I know, I know. But there's a reason I have a policy about taking my own products now, at least when I'm working.”
“You really don't remember your first kiss? Isn't that a bit sad?” Aff asked. And if it had been anyone else asking the question, Jamie probably would have taken offence, but they knew that Aff was just like that sometimes. They probably hadn't meant it in a judgemental way.
“Some people would probably profit from not remembering their first kiss, so I'm not too hung up about it,” they admitted with a shrug. “As far as I'm concerned, as long as there is no proof that can be used against me in any way, it doesn't matter. I would much rather focus on who I'm kissing now.”
“That's fair,” Sasha agreed, though she still moved a bit closer and laid an arm around their shoulder. Jamie leaned into it, maybe not needing the comfort but enjoying it anyway. It was really not a huge deal for them, but they were well aware that most people put more significance on this kind of thing.
“So who was yours then?” Cam asked after a few more seconds of silence, looking to Sasha for an answer. “The one who asks has to answer, too. Anything else wouldn't be fair.”
“Fine,” she muttered back, though the blush rising on her cheeks gave away she didn't quite like the new rule. “It was you, doofus.”
“Wait, what?” Cameron thought he'd misheard her at first. “No way, you told me you'd already done it all when we started dating! Didn't you have a thing with Jason once, too?”
“No, I made that up,” she admitted, almost sheepishly. “I didn't want anyone to think I was inexperienced, and Jason certainly didn't mind. It's always been surprisingly easy to get the rumour mill going in my favour, so I figured, why not for that, too?”
“Huh. I guess that makes sense,” Cam muttered, though he was obviously still a bit shaken by the new revelation. “I can't believe I was both yours and Aff's first kiss. That's crazy.”
“Maybe you were Jamie's, too!” Aff piped up, a wide smile on their face. “And neither of you remembers!”
“I could live with that,” Jamie replied immediately, before Cameron could deny it, and prompting another round of laughter. “Sure, let's go with that. Cameron's been my first kiss, then our group is even.”
Cameron shook his head slightly but agreed easily enough. “Sure, that works. Always happy to be of service.”
“And for your sacrifice, you're allowed to choose the next question.”
He wasn't sure if that was actually a reward, but accepted it anyway. After a moment of thinking about it, he nodded again. “Hmm, alright. What's the worst childhood injury you had?”
It wasn't a question Sasha had expected, but she was the first with an answer. “Oh, easy,” she huffed. “Nothing. Maybe a sprained ankle or something, but my parents never really let me do anything fun, and I spend most of my time inside.”
“That's tragic,” Jamie replied with a frown. “I think mine would be the time I cut my hand while looking for herbs, because that's the only thing my mother panicked enough about to actually take me to the hospital.”
“Did it need stitches?” Aff asked, sounding maybe a bit more interested than they should have.
“Yeah, a few. But it wasn't as bad as it looked, really. What about you?”
Aff pondered it for a moment as well, and then got a weird look on their face. “I got bitten by a dog once. But does it count if I don't really remember it?”
“If you don't remember it, how do you know it was your worst?” Cam asked, confused.
“My parents have told me about it a lot and I guess I went to therapy for it for a while?”
That definitely made the others pause, and the sudden silence in the room combined with their stares made Aff uncomfortable enough to start squirming. They finally sat up properly again, sitting down on the arm of the couch beside Cam, who quickly reached out to hold their hand.
“I mean, you don't have to tell us if it's like a really bad memory or something,” the boy quickly assured them, feeling bad now for not thinking about something else.
But Aff just shrugged. “Not really? As I said, I don't remember it. It's kind of a funny story, actually, I don't mind telling.”
“Okay, so what happened?” Sasha asked, not able to hide her curiosity now.
“Yeah, so basically,” Aff started, trying their best to tell the story in a way that actually made sense and not start rambling again halfway through. “I think I was like six, maybe seven years old. And back then we lived in a house that had this open backyard that would just lead into the woods, you know, and I do remember that I was there all the time.”
True to their words, they didn't seem to get more agitated or nervous while speaking, but the other three still kept a close eye on their body language as they went on. Cam gently tugged them a bit closer as well, missing the intimacy from just a few minutes ago when Aff had been spread out over their laps.
“Your parents just let you roam the woods by yourself? When you were six?” Sasha asked in disbelief, and before Aff could continue.
“Well, yeah,” they replied. “It wasn't all that big, and I was, like, really small. So if I went back now it would probably seem really small, too. Anyway. So one day I went out after lunch, and apparently I was gone a lot longer than usual. My dad was about to go out looking for me when I finally showed up again, and whenever he tells me about this he still gets really pale when he remembers that part. Because he opened the door and I was just covered in blood.”
Everyone's eyes went wide at that, even Jamie looked shocked behind their red tinted sunglasses. Aff gave a nervous laugh, as if they didn't know how else to react, and quickly continued.
“He said he didn't even ask me what happened, he and mom just packed me in the car and drove me to the hospital. He also said it took me like an hour to start talking again at all, and that I didn't remember anything back then, either. But yeah, I had a bunch of bitemarks on my legs and like, upper torso? And tons of scratches. And most were really shallow, but some have left scars and stuff.”
Cam remembered seeing them, now that they were talking about it. A few white lines and dots criss crossing over most of Aff's back, marks that no one had ever really spoken or asked questions about. They'd had better things to do at summercamp back then. But the scars did resemble old bite marks, he'd just never bothered to think about were they might have come from.
He placed a gentle kiss on their shoulder, just as Sasha spoke up again, still looking concerned. “But, were you okay afterwards? I mean, that must have been a huge thing for you.”
Aff shrugged again, and finally leaned closer to Cam. “Not really? I'm missing a few days there, so all I remember is my mom taking care of the wounds afterwards. Apparently there was a whole police investigation about it too, because at first they weren't sure if maybe my parents had anything to do with the injuries, but the doctors insisted that dog attack was the only thing that made sense.”
“Did they search the forest, or do anything else after that?”
“Oh, yeah, but they never found anything. There was a newspaper article and everything, but no one saw anything,” Aff told her. “But some people apparently collected money or something so I could go to therapy for a while? I don't really know the details, you'd have to ask my dad.”
“But you're not scared of dogs now,” Jamie stated, remembering that they'd seen Aff playing with dogs before. And enthusiastically, too, no sign of any fear.
“No, I never was,” Aff confirmed. “But my anger issues got like really really bad after that, so that's why they send me. Not that it helped much.”
The witch looked even more sceptical now, and raised an eyebrow at Aff. “And you've never considered that it might have been something else than a dog?”
“Why?”
God bless them, Jamie thought, but sometimes Aff could be dense as a brick wall. “Babe, you're a literal werewolf. And it's not like that's a trait that runs in your family.”
Aff was quiet for a moment, and then seemed to really process what Jamie was getting at. All they uttered was a very quiet “oh.”
“Yes, oh. That seriously never crossed your mind?” Jamie asked, incredulously, and getting louder as the were talking. “Not even when your anger issues got worse and you started shifting for the first time?”
“Hey, easy,” Cam interrupted, pulling Aff into his lap now and wrapping both arms around their waist to hold them close. “It's not their fault, they don't even remember the attack in the first place.”
Aff was frowning slightly, but felt like Jamie was right. It was weird that they had never put these two things together. They hadn't even really thought about the incident in years though, it had never even crossed their mind. “Well, I dunno,” they mumbled. “It seems kind of obvious now, I mean- I guess it's possible that that's where it came from?”
“Either way, I think it's a bit too late to say anything for certain now,” Sasha said gently, reaching over to lay a hand on their knee as well. “And it's not like it's all that important where it comes from, right? It's just important what you do with it.”
“But- if someone else lost it enough to attack me back then, does that mean that I could do the same to some other kid?” they asked, looking distraught now. Cam turned his head to glare at Jamie, mouthing over Aff's head 'Did you have to say that?'
Jamie gave a helpless shrug, but then focused on Aff again as well, reaching out to cup their face. “Hey, listen. Sasha's right, we can't know for certain that's what it was, and I'm sorry for implying otherwise. Second, if it really was another werewolf attacking you, who said they didn't have it under control? They might as well have done that to you on purpose, we don't know.” Aff clearly didn't like that idea any better, but they didn't look like they were about to go into a panic anymore either, so Jamie continued. “And lastly, beside the fact that you're already actively working on your control of this stuff, you're not alone. You have us, and we're all ready to help if you ever feel like you are loosing it.”
They nodded slowly, making an appreciative little sound when Cam started rubbing their back. “Yeah, yeah you're right,” they finally sighed. “I guess I'm not at that point yet. And-”
Sasha interrupted again. “And you never will be. You're better than that, Aff.”
Cam nodded, hoping that the conflicted look on their face wouldn't stay. They all fell silent again, still huddled up and hoping to comfort Aff however they could, while they themself were trying to come to terms with the idea of being able to pass this on to someone else if they weren't careful enough. It wasn't a good feeling, but the others being there made it better.
“Okay, no more questions for tonight, huh?” Cam spoke up eventually, keeping his voice gentle. “Does anyone wanna go to bed yet or should we just- I dunno, watch another movie or something?”
“I'm fine with either,” Aff mumbled, admittedly still a bit more subdued than they usually were, but also feeling a little better again. Since no one else showed any preferences either they decided on watching another movie in bed, which was the superior choice anyway in Aff's opinion.
Along with Cam they called dibs on middle spoon, since Jamie's bed was actually the only one to fit all four of them more of less comfortably without them needing to pile two or more mattresses on the floor. They had gone over to doing that when they were all sleeping over at Aff's house instead, which happened more often, but everyone being able to sleep on the same bed for once was nice.
After a while, about halfway through the movie, Sasha and Jamie fell asleep, leaving Cameron and Aff awake by themselves. Cam was still holding on to Aff as well, having pretty much refused to let go since the whole werewolf conversation earlier.
Tucking a strand of their hair back, Cam leaned in a bit closer to whisper. “Hey, you doing okay? You're not still worried about what you said earlier, are you?”
Aff sighed softly and nudged close to him, and in the dim light of the laptop screen still running in front of them Cam could see their concerned expression. “I don't know. Kinda, I guess?” Their bit their lip again, and at first Cam though he'd need to keep pushing. But then they continued. “Even if I don't remember the pain or anything, I know that it was a terrible experience for my parents, you know? And it's turned me into a werewolf, which is kind of cool, but also like really fucking scary. I don't wanna do that to anyone.”
“Hmm. You know, Jamie has a ton of books on all kinds of weird stuff, maybe we can find something about werewolves in there,” Cam suggested, actually having been thinking about this for a while. “And maybe we can find something that either makes it easier to keep your cool, or something that makes it impossible for you to pass it on? I mean, that kind of information has got to exist somewhere.”
“You think?” Aff asked, actually sounding hopeful. “That would be nice, yeah. I know it probably sounds stupid now, but I always thought being a werewolf is just something that happens to some people. That it's, like, random.”
“That's still a possibility, don't forget that,” Cam reminded them, closing his eyes now as he was getting more and more tired as well. “My thing was kinda random, right?”
“I don't know if it counts as random if something literally chooses you,” Aff chuckled. “But I guess you're right. Or maybe it is a family thing, and it just skipped a few generations or something. That can happen, right?”
“Unlikely,” Cam muttered. “I still think you'd know, in that case. Sasha's thing is a family thing, right? And she knows, even though her parents are shitty and just left her to figure all the stuff out by herself.”
“Huh, I didn't know that,” Aff admitted, making Cam realize once more that they were still, in a sense, “the new kid”. They hadn't known the rest of them for years, like he, Jamie, and Sasha had. And while Aff probably knew some things about him the others didn't, just because of the anger management classes, the other three of them still knew more about each other just due to growing up in the same tiny city. And especially he and Sasha had been sharing secrets with each other way before the other two had joined the picture.
“Yeah, you know what, we should probably talk about that,” he said. “Like, all of us. Where we think our stuff comes from, and what we know for certain. That would probably be a good thing to know.”
“Probably,” Aff agreed, sounding like they were slowly starting to drop off as well.
“Tomorrow then?” Cam asked.
“Tomorrow,” came the sleepy reply, and it didn't take long after that before the two fell asleep as well, barely remembering to close the laptop before they did so.