Chapter Text
Steph knew walking home tipsy at night was a bad idea but she didn’t have that many options. Her car was still in the shop getting its headlights replaced (thanks Max), Stacey despite being her ride had passed out on the couch, every other driver had a full car or was too drunk to drive and asking her dad was out of the question. Not just because of the normal reasons, he was on a business trip for the weekend so even if he wanted to he couldn’t. So, here she was walking home, at pretty much midnight, with a glass of Kyle’s “Specialty Blend” punch in her system, on a street bordering Witchwood Forest.
“Alright.” she thought to herself. “Not the best string of decisions I could have made, but what can I do about it now?”
Besides she had her phone to call for help if needed and the moon was… she forgot the fancy name for it but it was a little more than half full. So she could see decently well on the parts of the street without light from the street lights.
As Steph kept on walking she caught something moving in the woods out of the corner of her eye, but when she turned to get a better look there was nothing. Hoping it was just a cat or something like that, Steph kept on walking but more aware of her surroundings. When she heard the snapping of branches she whipped her head to the side to find a pair of bright yellow eyes staring back at her, the eyes of a Timberwolf.
Steph without thinking ran down a street heading into town, hoping the beast wouldn’t chase her there. While she didn’t hear the sounds of a wolf chasing her, didn’t see a raised portion of the sidewalk that her foot was about to catch. She tripped and fell hard, the alcohol in her system not helping with her balance or the pain that shot up from her ankle and knee.
“Ugh! Fucking hell! Way to go Steph.”
She tried to get back up but she realized her ankle was probably twisted or sprained or something and she felt blood on her knee, so she settled on rolling over so she could sit on the curb instead. As she did she turned to see if that wolf was still there, she instead saw something she didn’t expect to see.
Someone in a Hatchetfield High sweatshirt and khaki pants jogging towards her. At first Steph’s immediate response was to try and get away from this guy who for all she knew was going to take advantage of the fact that she was in no position to runway. Luckily her concerns were lessened when she heard the figure shout in a somewhat squeaky voice.
“Holy Shit! Are you okay?!”
Still wary of this guy, Steph responded “I fell on the hard sidewalk and my knee is bleeding. What do you think?”
As the stranger got closer Steph tried to get a good look at this guy’s face but it was obstructed by the darkness and the hood of his sweatshirt. She could make out some dark shoulder length hair and glasses though.
Steph, trying to sound as assertive as possible asked, “Who are you and what are you doing here?”
The guy came to a sudden stop and put his hands up like she was about to shoot at him. “Hey now. I’m just trying to make sure that you're alright. I don’t want to hurt you.”
If this was a creep he wasn’t very intimidating or good at his job.
“You didn’t answer my questions.”
“I could ask the same of you.”
This guy did have a bit of a point, there were a zillion reasons it was a bad idea for a teenage girl to be out alone at pretty much midnight.
“I was at a party and now I’m walking home. You?”
“Oh I uh… I was um, I have medical stuff that makes it hard for me to sleep. So sometimes I’ll go on walks to try and tire myself out so I sleep better. Do you need any help standing up? That ankle looks bad.”
“Okay.” Steph thought, “Either this is the awkwardest kidnaper in town or he’s actually just a nice guy who happened to be here.”
She looked at her foot and tried to move it, but she could only move it a little without it hurting too much.
“Yeah, I could use a hand.” She looked at her knee and saw it was pretty red at this point “And some bandaids.”
“Oh… uh…” this guy then looked down at his hand for some reason before shaking his head slightly. “I don’t have any on me sorry.”
“It’s fine, my house is just a few blocks away. I’ll just patch myself up at home.”
“Oh good… uh, in that case,” he reached out his hand toward Steph. “Let me help you get home.”
Steph took his hand so he could help her back onto her feet, or one working foot. Despite this guy’s lanky build he pulled her up with an impressive amount of strength that kinda surprised her.
“Whoa, you hiding some muscle under that sweatshirt?”
“Oh, I um… have a shake weight. It uh, helps with upper body strength.”
“I’ll take your word for it. You never told me your name by the way.”
“Oh uh, I'm Peter.”
With Peter supporting Steph’s weight the two of them began walking toward Steph’s place.
“Nice to meet you Pete. You probably know who I am.”
“Uh yeah, you’re Stephanie Lauter the mayor’s daughter.”
There were some perks to being the mayor’s daughter but there were just as many downsides to it as well. Like how everyone in town already knows a good chuck about her.
"Yeah, that’s me. Thanks for helping me out by the way. I don’t know what I was thinking, running away from that wolf.”
Peter quickly turned toward her with a somewhat panicked look in his eyes. “You saw a wolf?”
“Um, yeah. What did you think? I was running for my life just for the hell of it?”
“Yeah, good point.”
“I’m just glad it didn’t want me for dinner.”
“I doubt it. Wolves don’t see humans as prey but other predators. The only time they attack people is when humans attack first, or they're starving and desperate, or they’ve been habituated to lose their wariness of humans.”
“Wow Pete, you know a lot about wolves.”
“Oh yeah, I uh… had to do a report on them for school once.”
“Anything else you know about them?”
“If you ever come across a wolf again don’t run away. You got lucky it wasn’t a pack of wolves and you were near civilization. Instead try to scare them away by making a bunch of noise and waving your arms around.”
“Good to know.”
“Also make sure to slowly get away from them while making eye contact and acting aggressive. If that doesn’t work and a wolf starts getting aggressive you can try throwing stuff at it or swinging a big stick or anything else you can find at it. And finally if all else fails you can follow the example of Peanuts and climb a tree.”
Steph let out a quick laugh. “What?”
“Wolves can’t climb trees like cats and bears, so it’s a legit strategy.”
Steph hadn’t had this much fun just talking with someone in a while, and she wasn’t even doing that much of the talking. Then again she hadn’t talked with someone this nerdy before. She looked down at his sweatshirt and realized something.
“Hey, do you go to Hatchetfield High? Cause I’ve been trying to figure out if I’ve seen you before.”
Steph heard Peter mutter something to himself before catching a quiet “Eh, what the hell.” before he used his free hand to remove his hood, revealing his face to her.
“Yes, I do go to Hatchetfield High. You’ve probably seen me in my usual suspenders and a bowtie.”
“Oh yeah! Now I remember you. Don’t we have History and English together?”
“Yep.”
“Hey why do you wear suspenders and a bowtie to school every day? Are you asking for the nerd label or something?”
“Well the first reason is my brother says to pick a look and stick with it. I can’t grow a mustache yet so, next best thing. Second, bowties are high class. Do you remember Travis Colson?”
“Oh yeah. That really poor kid. Didn’t he and his family starve to death?”
“No. And they weren’t poor. He wore a dirty shirt once, and he got bullied so bad that his parents had to transfer him over to Sycamore.”
“Sycamore? I’d rather starve to death.”
“Third, the suspenders are to hold my pants up. One time Brad Callahan pantsed me in the sixth grade, right in front of Sarah Zimmerman. And she started this rumor-”
“Oh my god! You’re Micro-Peter!”
“Oh, god.”
“You’re, like, famous. Can I ask about it?”
“It’s not actually a micro-peinis! I was a kid it’s gown sense then.”
“Well, there goes your claim to fame.”
“That outfit is a tapestry of my trauma. It’s designed to provoke as little teasing as possible. If you ask me it’s worth being called a nerd to prevent another humiliating nickname. I’m not Micro-Peter, I’m Peter Spankoffski.”
“Wait, your last name is Spankoffski?”
“It’s Polish.”
“I didn’t know you were funny.”
“Nether did I.”
“I like funny guys.”
Even in the darkness of night Steph could tell Peter’s face was turning red. She then realized that they were already at her home.
“Well Pete this is the stop. Thanks again for helping me home.”
“Huh? Oh yeah. It’s nothing, I’m just glad I could help. Do you want me to come in with you to help with cleaning and bandaging?”
“No my dad won’t… Huh. You know what, yes I’d appreciate that.”
“Cool, just lead the way.”
With Peter supporting Steph she was able to use her keys and let the two of them in. She turned on the lights as he closed the door behind them. It was weird getting home without getting an earful from her dad or Ms. Testburger, it was nice though.
“Do you guys have a first aid kit or a medicine closet?”
“Yeah, I’m pretty sure there’s a first aid kit in the main bathroom down here. Follow me.”
Steph did her best to lead the way on one foot. Eventually getting there. Steph plopped herself on the toilet lid and pointed toward a cupboard in the wall.
“It’s probably hidden in there somewhere.”
“Got it.”
After half a minute or so Peter found the kit and placed it on the sink countertop.
“Do you have any towels I can use to clean up the blood?”
“Yeah, look in the drawer on the left.”
He pulled out a washcloth and soaked it in warm water. Thanks to the holes in her jeans she didn’t have to roll them up for Peter to reach the wound. Although, those holes were definitely the reason she had that nasty scrape, but whatever. Just before he got to work Peter stood still for a bit and took a breath, as if lost in thought before looking at Steph.
“I’m going to try and make this hurt as little as possible so just keep your eyes closed as I patch you up. Can you do that for me Stephanie?
“Sure, seems like you know what you’re doing so yeah.”
As she closed her eyes and leaned back as well as she could sitting on a toilet seat, she decided this nerd had earned it.
“By the way Pete, you can just call me Steph. It’s what my friends call me”
“Wow, uh… you got it Steph.”
With that Peter got to work. Steph felt him use the washcloth to clean the blood off her knee, apply some sort of ointment and place a large bandaid on her knee. He then told her he was going to take her shoe off to put some bandages on her ankle. And throughout the whole process Peter had kept his word as Steph didn’t feel any pain during the whole thing. Before Steph knew it Peter was tying the bandages in place.
“And that should do it. You can open your eyes now.”
“Damn Spankoffski, you are really good at this.”
“Well I ought to be after that first aid training. Thanks to my handy work you should be fine in no time. Just try not to overwork that ankle till it starts feeling better.”
“Thanks again for the help. I don't know what I would have done if we didn’t run into each other.”
“Uh, yeah. Sorry you tripped and fell.”
“Hey it’s not like it was your fault.”
“Sure. See at school Monday?”
“Are you okay with walking home by yourself?”
“Yeah, I won’t run without looking where I’m going.”
“Fair enough. Hey, before you go can I get your number?"
"Really? Why?"
"Just in case something like this happens again.”
“Oh, yeah! Sure thing, I left my phone at home so let me add my number to yours.”
Steph handed Peter her phone and he quickly added his number in her contacts and sent a quick “This is Steph’s number.” text to it.
“All right there you go. See you later and have a good night Steph.”
“See you around Spankoffski.”
With that Peter made his leave. Steph made sure to lock the door after he left and headed up stairs to her room on two feet, hardly remembering the pain she was in just moments before. As she got into bed she pulled up the newest edition to her contacts and sent her own message.
____
May 31st 12:17 AM
If you ever want to hang out again under better circumstances just let me know
12:25 AM
Yeah, Definitely.
I’m currently busy with preparing for finals but maybe some time after school is out for summer?
Sounds good to me
Good night
____
And with that Steph plugged her phone in, rolled over and drifted off to sleep.
Notes:
I hope you liked it so far. Updates will probably be sporadic due to school and my not neurotypical brain.
Chapter 2: Forest for the Trees
Summary:
Both Steph and Peter are stuck at Abstinence Camp. It doesn't take long for them to become friends.
Notes:
I'm adding Richie, Ruth and Ted and some other stuff in the tags even though it won't show up for a couple chapters. Just to let you guys know.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
June 1st 3:03 pm
Sorry for not really talking with you at school today.
It’s fine
Oh, good to know.
Dont take this the wrong way but your a nerd so i figured you didnt want to be distracted from learning
Yeah pretty much.
June 4th 7:26 pm
Hey can i ask you a dumb question?
There’s no such thing as a dumb question.
Can you tell me an interesting dog and wolf fact? My friends are talking about how huskies are friendly wolfs and i want to add something to this conversation thats actually correct
Actually, genetically speaking the Shiba Inu is closer to modern wolves than the Husky.
So i just told them what you said and Jason didnt believe me so everyone goggled it and were all surprised to learn its right
Thanks for making me look smart
You’re welcome.
I hope you dont mind that i said that i got that fact from twitter cant let them know about my secret wepon
I’m honestly flattered to be a secret weapon.
Good to know
June 5th 3:17 pm
By the way what i was trying to tell you before the bell today was do you want to hang out this weekend or are you busy being a good student?
Yeah, I have a final project I’m still putting the final touches on and I still have some study sessions with Richie and Ruth I have planned. So I’ll be off the grid tonight and busy the rest of the weekend.
That makes sense hope you have a productiv weekend
June 7th 9:38 pm
You have time to talk? If not i understand
Yeah I’m just about to turn in for the night. What’s up?
The football team just started a game of beer pong and im trying to look busy to try putting of joining
Oh, are you at a party?
Yeah Brenda is throwing a big party for the end of the school year
Having fun?
Yeah i just didnt get much of a diner so i know if i start playing im going to get sick tomarow
Oh yeah that makes sense.
Wait are you just being a nerd or have you drank before?
Both.
Realy?
A little after my eighteenth birthday my older brother gave me a few beers to celebrate “Becoming a man!” as he put it. I only had one though, I didn’t like it.
Fair enough
Gtg there making me play
Okay, just make sure to not go too far.
----
“God why didn’t I take his advice that night.” Steph muttered to herself as sat in the back of her dad’s car driving towards the camp she was going to spend the rest of the summer.
Maybe if she just listened to those totally effective anti drug assemblies at school and “Just say no!” Maybe she wouldn’t have gotten so nauseous the next morning at school. Maybe she wouldn’t run into Grace and mention the word pregnant. And maybe those rumors wouldn't have spread throughout the school and then the town.
No matter how many times she tried to plead her case, her dad had made up his mind. Because if there was one thing Solomon cared about more than anything it was his image and winning the election. Okay that was technically two things but whatever. To ensure he didn’t have a deviant daughter dragging down his supposedly good name for the election this year Steph was forced to go to the sheltered and repressed Jesus loving weirdo capital of the world, also known as Camp Idontwannabang.
As she grabbed her bag and left the car Steph didn’t even bother to say goodbye to her dad. It’s not like she’d normally say that to her dad on a good day, but still. The car pulled out of the drop off loop and Steph just stood there as she was literally and figuratively left in the dust.
She walked toward the registration stations with lines of kids who looked excited to be here for some god forsaken reason. Probably a blasphemous thought to the people here but she was unfortunately used to holding her tongue thanks to her dad. As Steph wondered just how she was going to make it through six weeks of this nightmare she heard a somewhat familiar voice.
“Steph! Is that you?!”
Steph turned around to find Peter Spankoffski walking toward her, covered in a bit of dust and carrying a duffel bag in his hand.
“Peter! Oh thank God, someone who isn’t a chipper nutcase!”
A camp counselor overheard Steph’s comment and shouted, “Hey, do not use the Lord’s name in vain!”
Well she never claimed to be the best at holding her tongue. She shouted back a half hearted “Sorry.” before turning to talk to someone who wasn’t an idiot.
“Steph what are you doing at a place like this?”
“Long story short, my dad hates me. What about you?”
“Kinda the same reason. My parents went here as kids and made my brother go here too, so now it’s my turn. I tried to convince them to not make me go but they would always say stuff like ‘It won’t be that bad.’ or ‘It’ll be good for you.’ or ‘I had to do it so you can too, what are so so scared of?’”
“Your family sounds delightful.”
“Eh, they don’t really hate me, they just never pay attention. My parents are always busy with work and my brother is busy living his own life. It can be frustrating sometimes, but it can have its perks. Like being able to leave and hang with my friends whenever I want or being able to bounce between my home and my brother’s place depending on whatever's convenient.”
“Honestly, I’d take being ignored over being belittled any day.”
“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that.”
“It’s whatever.”
The two of them stood there for a beat before Peter broke the awkward silence.
“We should probably head to the check in lines. Do you need any help with your bag?”
“Because I’m a girl and I can’t carry stuff on my own?”
“Oh, uh, I’m sorry. I didn’t-”
“I’m just messing with you Spankoffski.”
“Oh, got it.”
“Besides, you're already carrying your own stuff. And you don’t need to push yourself for me.”
“Don’t worry about me, I got this.”
Peter quickly picked up Steph’s bag in his other hand and walked with her to registration like he was just carrying two gallons of milk.
“I forgot you’re surprisingly strong for your build.”
“Thanks.”
----
The first few days of camp weren’t completely terrible. Sure Steph learned that Grace was the one who started the pregnancy rumors thinking she was helping for some reason. Sure the two head counselors were weird and definitely had something going on between them. But at least Peter was there to keep her company. Due to the fact the dining hall was not so subtly divided into boy tables and girl tables they only got so many chances to talk with each other.
The next time the two of them got a chance to really talk was on the cross hike. Steph was purposefully lagging behind so as to not be forced to participate in the songs and chants the rest of the kids were doing. Eventually she came across Peter sitting on a log catching his breath with a zip lock bag containing a few M&Ms. Peter gave a sheepish smile.
“You won’t tell them about the candy, right?”
Steph pulled out a chocolate bar out of her pocket and said, “So long as you don’t.”
“Thanks. They took my main stash at check in so I had to make due with a backup stash of mine, the raisins here suck.”
“Here,” Steph handed the chocolate bar to Peter. “Looks like you need it more than I do.”
“Thanks, how did you get yours past security?”
“I hid it in my underwear, the guy never checked. Did you know that if a man touches a woman’s bra his hand will erupt in boils? That’s what it said in the Abstinence Camp pamphlet.”
“Did it? I used it to wipe my ass. Looked more hygienic than the T.P. in the out house.”
“Look at you being a rule breaker.”
“Hey, rules were made to be broken.”
“Huh, you’re not such a nerd are you?”
“You say that now, get me in front of a chemistry set and you’ll see some really nerdy shit.”
“So your thing is chemistry? Figured it be biology with your wolf fun facts.”
“Yeah the wolf thing was for a project that I just researched the hell out of. But chemistry is my favorite subject. When I was eight I got a kids chemistry kit for my birthday. Ever since then I’ve been fascinated with the stuff.”
“Maybe when we get out of this hell hole you can show me some nerdy shit.”
“Really?”
“It would probably beat talking to Stacy and Brenda about pop music for the hundredth time.”
“If you really want to, I could set up a simple demonstration.”
“Like a baking soda vinegar volcano or diet coke and mentos?”
“I think I can pull something like that off.”
“Sweet, though we should probably get going and catch up with the group.”
“It’ll take a bit for my blood sugar to get back to normal but it won't take too long for me to catch up to you guys. You go ahead.”
“You sure Pete?”
“I have to deal with this kinda stuff all the time, I know what I’m doing.”
“Okay, enjoy your snack.”
“Catch ya later Steph.”
“See you around Spankoffski.”
----
The next day Steph decided to sit around one of the campfires that was set up that night for two reasons. The first was she had learned the fact that not all the fires held bible studies, some were just for talking and hanging out. The second reason was the boys over here girls over there rule wasn’t much of a thing around the campfire so she and Peter could sit with each other and not get flack for it.
This group of kids were being told a story about some mad woods man called Lumber Axe, who would terrorize any kid at camp who was even a little flirtatious or physical. Steph wasn’t buying a single bit of it.
“Sorry, but this is ridiculous.”
Gabe, who was telling the story, turned toward Steph.
“Well you’re just going to have a little faith like Sodom and Gamora. I know five kids who swear on the cross that Lumber Axe found them in moments of weakness and reminded them of the wrath of God. Made sure they would stay on the straight and narrow.”
“Whatever you say.”
Steph turned towards Peter and whispered, “I swear the things these kids believe.”
Peter rubbed his neck and replied, “Well…”
“Don’t tell me you believe this shit.”
“What I am saying is there’s probably a reasonable explanation for him. Some kids suck out to do something they weren’t supposed to do, they were already jumpy and worried that they would get caught, then one of them saw someone, probably a counselor getting wood for the campfire that night, which made them run away, they told their friends what they saw, so now every kid doing something bad in the woods sees a man with an axe in the shadows.”
As Peter finished his hypothesis for the legend of Lumber Axe, some boy jumped out of a bush and shouted to try to add something to Gabe’s story. He was also holding a canoe paddle for some reason. This worked really well for one girl who ran away crying. The boy who jumped scared her, tried to apologize and ran after her.
As Steph watched the scene unfold before her and muttered to herself, “God I hate these nerdy prudes.”
Peter, who seemingly heard that, gasped in an overly dramatic manner.
“How dare you!”
“Relax Spankoffski, you’re not a prude. So you’re cool in my book.”
“Wait, you think I’m cool.”
“Well you’re fun to talk to, you're comfortable in your own nerdiness and you’re not a blind rule follower. So yeah, I think you’re cool.”
“Wow, thanks. No one has ever called me cool before.”
The two of them just sat in silence for a bit as Steph saw Peter go bug eyed, probably realizing that he just said that out loud. He quickly excused himself and ran in the direction of the boy’s cabins. Steph turned around to try and call him back but he was already long gone. She decided to just turn in for the night. She could talk to him tomorrow.
----
Later the next afternoon while getting out of what was supposed to be personal bible study time, Steph was able to find Peter alone at the docks and decided to join him. While the two of them were sitting on the edge dangling their feet above the water Steph decided to not bring up the last bit of their conversation last night and just move on, until Peter started talking.
“Hey Steph, I’m sorry for leaving so quickly last night. I was just so embarrassed you heard me say that that I panicked and just left.”
Well never mind.
“Pete, it's fine. Don’t worry about it. People say weird things all the time in the spur of the moment, I wasn’t even going to bring it up.”
“Oh thank God. I was so antsy after that, I barely slept last night. Had to run around the forest all night to calm my nerves.”
“Metaphorically, right? Even I know how stupid it is to be in the Witchwood Forest alone at night.”
“Yeah, obviously. Don’t want to run into Lumber Axe.” He said the last bit with a typical ghost voice while wiggling his finger to play up the bit.
“You’re still on that dumb story from last night?”
“I just ran into Gabe and he was telling me all about his supposed encounter with him last night.”
“Really, what happened?”
“He was in the arts and crafts cabin after people started turning in for the night.”
“Why?”
“Apparently he was trying Boy Jerry’s advice of making wallets to work out his frustration. It didn’t work.”
“How am I not surprised?”
“Anyway after that he resorted to a more ‘physical’ way to unwind.”
“Ah, I see.”
“After a few minutes of this he heard a tapping at the window, so he quickly pulled his pants up in case it was a person and turned around to see what it was.”
“Wait, don't tell me, he saw a woodsman with an axe?”
“Ding ding ding, you are correct. He said he saw a large figure with long wild hair and one eye holding an axe and using it to tap at the window. After seeing this he then ran back to his cabin and hid for the rest of the night.”
“These kids I swear.”
“Oh by the way Steph, I’m not going to be at the fire pit tonight. I’m going to go to bed early to try and make up for last night.”
“Fine by me.”
“Anyway, we should head back before they start looking for us.”
“Yeah, wanna head over to arts and crafts Pete?”
“Sure, why not.”
The two of them made their way back to camp with Peter heading to the washrooms to relieve himself, Steph went over to the arts and crafts cabin to save a spot for Peter. While walking there Steph ran into Gabe staring at the cabin talking to himself, trying to work up the courage to get closer.
“You can do it Gabe. Just don’t do that again and he won’t show up.”
Steph gave him a light tap on the shoulders making him jump.
“Augh! Oh it’s just you Stephanie.”
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to make you jump that much.”
“I’m just a bit shaken up today. I'm not scared, nothing happened last night.”
“Right.” Steph said with a sarcastic tone. “You didn’t run into Lumber Axe last night, got it.”
“How did you know?”
“Peter told me.”
“How did he know?”
“Because you told him?”
“I haven't said a word to anyone except Jerry and Jeri.”
“Huh, weird.”
How on earth did Peter know about Gabe’s supposed encounter with Lumber Axe, if Gabe never told him? Did he prank Gabe? But Peter doesn’t seem like the kind of guy to pull pranks. Did he witness it? But how did he know so many details? Steph didn’t know what was going on, but she was determined to figure it out.
Notes:
I promise we'll get to the werewolf stuff next chapter, just got to set things up.
Chapter 3: And Steph came Tumbling After
Summary:
Steph is determined to figure out what's up with Peter today, and she learns a lot more then what she was expecting.
Notes:
Heads up this one is a tad longer then the other two, due to the amount of dialog needed to explain- well you'll see. This has one of the scenes that I had solidified near the beginning and I think it turned out alright. Hope you enjoy.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Steph’s mind was still racing when Peter joined her at the arts and crafts cabin. Luckily he didn’t really notice that she wasn't talking that much while they and a few other kids made baskets. Steph was still unsure on how to ask Peter about Gabe and Lumber Axe. She didn’t want to cast him in a negative light but there wasn’t a good way to ask, “Hey ya know how you were telling me about Gabe’s supposed encounter with Lumber Axe? Well how did you know all that if Gabe didn’t tell anyone except Jerry and Jeri about it until I brought it up with him?”
Still Steph just knew there had to be a logical explanation to this, right? God, Peter was starting to rub off on her. After arts and crafts was over everyone started heading toward the main cabin for dinner. Sense boys and girls sitting together at meals was heavily discouraged and she didn’t know how early Peter was going to head to his cabin now was the only real chance to talk about it.
“Hey Pete, can I ask you something?”
“Sure. What is it?”
Steph took a breath. She had to tread carefully, not too harsh or accusatory but firm enough to get answers.
“You know how we were talking about Gabe encountering Lumber Axe.”
“Yeah, what about it?”
“Well ran into Gabe before you showed up and he said he didn’t tell you about what happened last night.”
Peter’s eyes went wide and his face turned white. He stammered a quick “What are you talking about?” before Steph continued.
“I joked about him getting scared by Lumber Axe and he asked me how I knew about it. I told him that you told me, then he said that the only people he told were the Jerrys. So now I’m wondering how you knew about that and why you said Gabe told you about it?”
Steph could tell he was panicking a little, his face was still white and he was avoiding eye contact. After a bit Peter responded. “Oh yeah, I did say that Gabe told me directly. That was a simple mistake on my part, sorry. What I meant to say was I ran into Grace who told me about Gabe’s scare last night. One of the Jerrys must have told her and she told me about it as a sort of ‘See, Lumber Axe is real. So you better behave.’ story. Sorry I confused you.”
Steph couldn’t tell if Peter was being truthful or not. She was going to do some digging into what happened, but for now she was going to give him the benefit of the doubt.
“Oh, it’s okay Pete. Just wanted to clear up the confusion.”
“Oh good. Again sorry about that.”
As the two of them entered the dining room and got their dinners, Peter went to his usual spot in the corner while Steph went and sat it in a spot she’d normally never sit at. She walked up to a table with a few girls on one end and Grace Casity at the other. Steph had a plan but she would have to sit with her to get the answers she needed. She took a deep breath and braced herself.
“Hey Grace. Mind if I talk with you for a bit?”
“Oh my gosh! Of course! I’m always happy to give a spot at the table to a friend. Now what do you want to talk about? Our favorite Bible passages, how to join my church’s youth group, the best camp activities?
Steph held back an annoyed groan and asked Grace, “Do you know anything about what happened to Gabe last night?”
“What?”
“A little while ago I ran into Gabe. He told me he was fine but I could tell something was up. After I made a joke about Lumber Axe he panicked a little and asked me how I knew he ran into Lumber Axe last night if the only people he’s told about it were the Jerrys. I told him I didn’t know what he was talking about. Have you heard anything about this from Gabe or the Jerrys?”
“No, I haven't heard anything like that. Why would Gabe encounter Lumber Axe? Did he do something? But why would Gabe even try anything that would result in a warning from Lumber Axe if he knew it was going to happen?”
“I don’t know Grace. You two seem close so I was hoping if anyone had more info on what happened it would be you.”
“Well what I do know is Gabe is in need of some comfort and guidance right now. I think I’m going to invite him to join me at Boy Jerry’s campfire Bible study tonight. Hopefully his lessons and my support will help him through his trials. Thanks for telling me about this, Steph.”
“Sure Grace.”
For the rest of the meal Grace kept on talking to Steph about God and forgiveness and something about that darn canoe that would always leak. Steph wasn’t paying any attention to her. She was too busy trying to make sense of what was going on around here. Peter had clearly lied about learning the story from Gabe, only to lie about learning it from Grace to try and cover up the first lie. Why couldn’t he just tell her the truth? Was he ashamed or scared or was this a sign that there was something weird going on. Steph knew that there was something off about this forest from things she overheard her father say, but how on earth would Peter have anything to do about this?
As she finished her dinner and put her dishes back she saw Peter leaving the dinning hall and decided she needed to talk with him again. She walked outside and looked towards the path that led towards the bunks, but she didn’t see Peter. Steph looked around and spotted him heading down the path that led towards the outdoor activities. Didn’t he say that he was going to turn in early tonight? Add that to the things Steph needed to ask him about. As she followed behind him alongside some other kids heading that way she caught him going down the path that headed towards the hiking trails.
“Okay.” Steph thought to herself. “Something there's definitely fishy going on with him.”
She broke off from the group of kids to follow him, not too long after she joined Peter on that path he stopped and turned around. Well that’s what you get for not trying to be sneaky.
“Steph what are you doing here?”
“Following you to ask why you’ve been lying to me all of the sudden. What are you doing out here?”
“Steph, I'm sorry for lying to you. I just have to go. I’ll explain more tomorrow I promise.”
“No you are not pulling that Spankoffski. You’re going to tell me how you knew what happened to Gabe and why you’re sneaking off when you said you were going to bed early tonight.”
“There are some things I promised to never tell anyone else, and even if I told you absolutely everything you would just call me crazy. Now please just let me be.”
With that Peter began running down the trail. Steph tried to follow him but he was too fast and she began to fall behind. As she was trying to keep up and not lose him she forgot an important lesson from the night they first met, look where you’re going so you don’t trip.
As Steph made a turn in the trail her foot caught a root and that sent her flying off the path and into the brush. That normally wouldn’t be too much of a problem, sure it would hurt but nothing some bandages couldn’t fix. Unfortunately the bend in the trail Steph had tripped was along the edge of a hillside.
As Steph tumbled down the hill she was starting to panic. She could barely see or hear her surroundings tumbling so fast, and she was getting banged up pretty bad from the branches and rocks on the ground. Her thoughts were going a mile a minute. But between the pain and cursing she could make out Peter calling out her name in panic. Steph tried to spot him but her world right now was a blur of brown and green.
Then Steph saw something weird, or at least she thought she saw something weird. She was able to catch something shaped like a person running after her, it had to be Peter. She tumbled and then she saw a bright light, she tumbled again and this time she saw a large wolf running down the hill towards her. Steph couldn’t decide whether to wonder where the wolf came from or where Peter went or what that light was or even worry about the fact that a large wild predator was running after her. She was just focused on trying to slow down and not get even more hurt.
Soon the wolf jumped over her and landed on a more level part of the hill, lied down and braced as if it was trying to stop her from rolling past it. It kind of worked. Steph ended up slowing down but it wasn’t enough, she rolled over the wolf and almost kept going. Then Steph felt a bit of pain and a pull on her sleeve as she was pulled on to the flatter ground. As she laid there catching her breath with adrenaline and cortisol running through her system, Steph realized that she was lying next to a big wolf. As she tried to get away by pushing herself backwards she saw something unbelievable, the wolf started glowing with a white light and then standing in its place was Peter.
As Steph lied there dumbfounded Peter immediately bent down and took Steph’s hand in his own.
“Oh my God! Steph, I’m so sorry! Fuck! What was I thinking? Don’t move, I’m going to fix this.”
Before Steph could say anything Peter had lifted her arm to get a better look at a cut on her forearm. Then there was a glow coming from Peter’s hand, a bright pattern of light in a web-like shape. He then placed this web of light on the wound and it stayed there for a bit before disappearing along with the wound. As Steph leaned against a stump on the forest floor being healed, she finally calmed down enough to find her voice and talk to Peter who had a lot of explaining to do.
“Pete, what are you?”
“If I tell you, do you promise not to tell anyone.”
“Yes, I promise.”
Peter took a deep breath, clearly hesitant to tell Steph but knowing there was no more beating around the bush now. He turned to Steph and began to explain.
“I am a werewolf and I have been since I was thirteen. I can turn into a wolf whenever I want, except on nights of the full moon when I’m stuck as a wolf for the night. I can heal other people of their injuries, pains and illnesses. I can’t cure stuff you're born with or you develop over time, but I can help with any pain that may come with stuff like that. I can create a dream catcher looking thing that can prevent nightmares. And I have slightly enhanced strength, speed, endurance, durability, and senses while human.”
“This is what you were lying to me about, wasn’t it?”
“Yes, as you can imagine stuff like this is something I would want to keep to myself.”
“I would imagen. How did this happen?”
“Like I said, it started when I was thirteen. The company my brother works for decided to put on a big family weekend family camping event that summer. Since my brother doesn't have kids he brought me along instead. At one point we were exploring on our own, away from the adults and-”
“I'm sorry, we?”
Peter leaned his head back, realizing he let another thing slip. “Fuck.”
He turned back to Steph. “Yeah my friends Richie and Ruth were there too. Richie was with his uncle Paul and Ruth just tagged along with me and Ted because she didn’t want to be alone all weekend. Anyway, we were exploring and saw some guys in safety jackets were looking for something in the ground. They saw us and told us to get away because they were dealing with dangerous adult stuff. We decided to check it out later that night. When we did, I accidentally fell into a cave covered up by vines, inside we found a bunch of paintings on the walls and a glowing orb on a pedestal in the center of the room. Then out of nowhere the orb started pulsating with light and then disappeared in a flash. After checking to make sure we weren't dead or anything we headed back to the campsite. At first we thought nothing happened until the next full moon a few days later.”
“When you guys transformed for the first time.”
“Yeah. Over time we figured the rest out through trial and error, oh, and some stuff we found in that cave. We haven’t told anyone in town about this, except you now. Ugh, those two are going to kill me for this.”
“Wait a minute I heard someone in camp say there was a full moon tonight. Is that why you were sneaking off? So you wouldn’t be seen transforming?”
“Yeah. Normally we just bunker at home all night, but sometimes we all head out if we feel up to it and the weather is nice. But since I’m here I told them I’d meet up with them so they wouldn’t worry about me.”
“Why did- Wait. I was about to ask why would you be here at camp with a secret like this, but then I remembered that you haven’t told your family about this. So when you told them you really didn’t want to go you couldn’t give the real reason why.”
Yeah, pretty much. Anyway, I’m meeting them at the cave before the moon rises.”
“When is that?”
“About nine thirty. I still got about two hours and the cave is about forty minutes away. And that’s just at a brisk pace. If I really wanted to, I could transform and book it and be there in less than five minutes.”
“Why are you telling me all of this?”
“Well you saw me transform to save you from recreating Jack and Jill and it would be pretty hard to try and cover that up, so I decided that I should just tell you. And if you know about this I figured I should just tell you everything you might want to know about. Besides, I like being friends with you”
Peter paused and took a breath. “I know this will sound sad but you’re the closest friend I’ve made sense becoming friends with Richie and Ruth, and it sucked not being able to tell you about this. So I’m telling you this now, and if you have any more questions just ask.”
“In that case, how did you know about what happened to Gabe? Were you transformed and spotted by him or something?”
“God-” Peter groaned. “Do you want the long version of the short version?”
“How much time do you have?”
“Okay, so it turns out the story of Lumber Axe is real and Richie, Ruth and I are on decent terms with him.”
Steph gave Peter a bewildered look. “Wait what?”
“They say that things grow big and strong and different in this forest. He has lived in the heart of this forest his whole life so he’s a big guy who doesn’t talk much. We met him not long after becoming werewolves when we were just running around the woods. At first we were scared but we realized that he was just lonely. But here’s the big thing…”
Peter looked around, as if there would be anyone else here. He then put his hand beside his mouth like he was saying a big secret or some juicy gossip. “He's also the bastard son of Jerry and Jeri who have tried to teach him the same lessons that they teach at camp.”
“I knew there was something going on with those two. Fucking hypocrites.”
“Anyway we decided that he deserved to have more people in his life than his coo-coo parents, so we decided to be friendly with him when we had the time. It didn’t take long before we realized that he was someone who was so sheltered that he thought that kissing before marriage should be punishable by death. So we made it a point to let him know how the rest of the world works, this combined with some scriptures that teaches that punishment for sins should be left in the hands of God helped him chill out. Now he just scares the shit out of people who break the camp’s rules to hopefully make them square up and ‘Not go to Hell.’ as he put it. Still kind of messed up if you ask me. But to make a long story short.”
“Too late.”
“I ran into him walking to camp and agreed to meet with him for at least a few nights, and one of those nights was last night. He heard Gabe tugging and decided to do his self assigned job, I tagged along to make sure he didn’t go too far.”
“Huh, my dad always said that the secrets in this town would make you question a lot of things. So somehow the werewolf thing and Lumber Axe’s existence was less of a surprise than you being friends with him.”
“You say that now, just give it a few days. Hell, I haven’t even told you about The Pale Queen yet.”
“The what?”
At this point Peter had healed all of Steph’s wounds and she began to stand up when she felt pain in her shoulder. She inhaled sharply.
“Hey Pete, I think you missed one.”
“Oh sorry let me see.”
As Steph carefully pulled aside her sleeve so Peter could get a better look at the injury, she couldn’t see Peter’s face turn white as he saw what kind of injury it was.
“Oh shit!”
“What do you mean, oh shit?”
“Don’t panic because we’re pretty sure it doesn't work like it does in the movies, but when I grabbed you by your shirt sleeve to pull you up I accidentally got some of your shoulder too.”
Notes:
"Is Steph now infected with the werewolf curse? Or is there something they can do? Find out next time on Running with the Wolfs!"
In all seriousness, I hope you liked the cliff hanger. Don't worry I don't plan to use them to often, probably.
Chapter 4: Perseverance pt1
Summary:
Steph tries to not freak out and Peter tries to not freak to prevent Steph from freaking out. They then decide to head to the cave so they can not freak out in peace and so Peter can better explain some of the weirder stuff.
Notes:
Sorry this took a bit and sorry that you've been waiting on a cliff hanger. First I had work three nights in a row (I work part time at a movie theater) during a weekend a paper was due, so I was really busy. And second this chapter got a little out of hand so I've split it into two separate chapters. I hope you can forgive me.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Steph was still processing what Peter had just said to her as he placed a hand on her shoulder to heal the wound.
“Could you please repeat that?”
Trying to hide the panic in his voice Peter quickly spat out, “Like I said it probably won't lead to anything especially now that it’s healed and gone, but yes I did accidentally bite you when I was pulling onto the ledge. You don’t need to worry.”
Steph just stood there processing everything as the potential reality started to hit her.
“No Spankoffski, I'm pretty sure this is worrying. And what do you mean by probably, are you saying you know whether we should be worried about me or not?”
“Well, do you know how to test this without potentially serious consequences?”
“And why are you leaning towards this not being a problem?”
“One, I’m trying really hard to not freak out right now so you don’t freak out. And two, the one note we found in the cave called out Hollywood for making werewolves contagious monsters so it probably doesn't work that way.”
“Wait, that started in Hollywood?”
“Yeah, in ancient Greece and Rome people became werewolves through divine punishments and in medieval Ireland there were stories of family lines that could turn into wolves and back. So I’m fairly certain you’ll be fine Steph, nothing will happen to you tonight.”
“Getting back to the point, what if something does happen? What should we do about this, cause I don’t want to go back to camp and just hope nothing happens.”
Peter sat down on a log bouncing his knee up and down. He thought about it for a moment before turning to Steph and saying, “I can take you to the cave where you can stay if something happens. I’ll have to explain this to Richie and Ruth so it might help to have you there so we can both explain this. But if nothing happens I can help you find your way back to camp.”
“Thanks Pete.”
“Just promise me that you’ll keep the cave’s location a secret.”
“Of course.”
“Okay, do you feel up to a bit of a hike?”
Steph nodded and the two of them began to make their way back up the hill toward more level ground. Despite having all her injuries healed, Steph had still ran her heart out trying to catch Peter then tumbled down a hill, she was feeling a little winded and tired. After they got back to the top Steph stopped to catch her breath.
“Are you sure you're okay Steph?”
“Yeah… just give me a bit… and I’ll be fine.”
Peter looked thoughtful for a bit before stating, “Ya know what, I’m going to get us there so we have more time to get ready. Hop on.”
Before Steph had the chance to ask what he meant by that, Peter had changed into his wolf form. He then laid down and pointed his head at his back.
“Pete, are you sure about this?”
Peter gave a “Sorta/Eh” hand gesture, or paw gesture.
“Okay… but you better not let me fall off.”
Peter gave a quick nod as Steph hesitantly and carefully got on. As Peter stood up Steph wrapped her legs around his side and grabbed hold onto his back. With that Peter bolted through the forest with Steph in tow. As Steph held on for dear life she felt the wind in her hair and strong breaths of Peter as he ran around and over rocks and logs. After a bit Steph found herself kinda enjoying the rushing feeling, it kinda reminded her of riding some of the big rides at Watcher World. For a moment she was lost in the exhilaration and just enjoyed this feeling, like the two of them were unstoppable together. But it didn’t take too long for them to reach their destination. Peter came to a stop in a small clearing next to a cliff side. As Steph got off she was still feeling the adrenaline, Peter turned back normal.
“Okay, for the first time running with someone on my back that went really well.” Peter noticed Steph’s heavy breathing and a huge smile on her face. “You okay Steph?”
“Yeah I’m fine. I just got a bit of that excited adrenalin feeling going.”
“Oh that’s…good? Anyway let me try to- actually I want to test something real quick.” Peter pointed to a patch of vines on the cliffside, “Steph, walk towards that spot with your hand stretched out.”
“Okay?”
Steph did what Peter asked and nothing noteworthy happened, she walked forward and was stopped by the thick, tangled vines.
“Pete, was that a good thing or a bad thing?”
“Good thing. Now hold my hand, stay really close and let’s see if this works.”
Steph took Peter’s hand and watched as Peter got closer to the vines they began to give off a soft white glow and pull themselves apart like a curtain. As they walked through the opening the vines fell back into place behind them. After a few steps in the tangled web of vines they stepped out, into a dark cave tunnel.
“Steph, keep holding on, I'm going to hit the lights.”
Steph could barely make out Peter reaching for a small glowing dot on the wall before he hit the switch on a power strip causing the tunnel to light up from a string of lights.
Peter held out his hands out like he was showing the place off, “Uh, welcome to the werewolf cave I guess. The main space is just a little bit further in. Come on.”
As they walked Steph looked around at the cave and lights. “I assume these were not here when you first found this place?”
“Yeah, the three of us have added a few things over the years to just make things easier and more comfortable when we decide to spend the night here.”
They soon entered the main opening in the cave, it was a shaped like a semi-sphere. The first thing Steph noticed was the beautiful cave painting like artwork on the walls depicting people and wolves. She then noticed on the ground against the wall to the right of the entryway was a collection of bean bag chairs, a patio bench with cushions, large storage bins that doubled as side and coffee tables, small storage bins that were stacked together on a part of the wall that jutted out like a shelf, some electronic battery generator looking thing the size of tissue box siting on one of the big bins with wires coming out of it, and a brown woven style patio rug.
Steph gave Peter a cheeky look. “Just a few things, huh?”
Peter gave an unenthusiastic “Har har” as he walked over to the electronic thingy and turned it on, causing some more lights to turn on in the cave. He then picked up a smaller bin with his name on it and pulled out a cellphone.
“Wait, why is your phone here? Didn’t the camp take your phone too?”
“Well I learned from some kids at school that the camp has a no phones policy so the day before camp started I stashed it up here so if something happened I could message Richie and Ruth.”
“Do you even get a signal in here?”
“That’s where this thing comes in.” Peter taped on the electronic thingy, “Ruth won the naming war and dubbed it the Comlink, it’s part generator part Wi-Fi router. And since I know what you're about to ask, we got it from my brother’s workplace. They were tossing out a bunch of electronic stuff, but before they went in the dumpster they passed a box around his office and said folks could just take what they wanted. So he just grabbed something and gave it to me like, ‘Here I got some nerdy shit for you and your friends to mess with. Have fun dorkus.’ or something like that. Anyway Richie and Ruth messed with it for a bit and somehow turned it into this.”
“Well add tech savviness to the list of nerdy stereotypes you guys fall into.”
“Well I’m going to message them real quick so just grab a seat while I take care of this.”
Peter plopped down on a bean bag chair and started typing away on his phone, and Steph began looking at the art in this cave.
“Hey Pete, what’s up with these drawings on the wall?”
Not looking up from his phone Peter said, “They were here when we found this place. It tells a story if you read it right to left like a book.”
Steph looked up and began to give the art a closer look. Starting to the right of the door above were all the stuff was set up, she saw a boat landing on a beach, then a town being built, then a group of people drawn in white paint surrounding a figure with long white hair and a white dress with a web or dreamcatcher looking thing behind her, then those people taking care of other people, then a figure drawn with black paint holding a book, then that same figure looking up at dark thick wavy lines at the group of people in white who had what looked like sound lines coming off of them, then those dark lines surrounding the people in white, then a group of wolves, then those wolves next to the figure with long white hair and a white dress, then people and wolves under the sun, then just wolves under the moon, then people in a dome with straight white lines coming off of it while dark wavy lines surround them, then two people kissing under an arch, then a three wolves of different sizes running, then finally a much more detailed painting of the woman with long white hair in a white dress with a web like pattern.
She had eight eyes with black sclera, white irises and no pupils. She also had eight arms; the lower two were cradling a group of people and wolves, the middle four were out stretched emitting lines that formed a bunch of patterns above and behind her, and the upper two hands held a paw print design in front of a simple web design. And on her head was a white crown that mingled with the web patterns in the drawing.
As Steph finished looking at the wall she walked over to the patio bench and laid down on it. She began to wonder if this Pale Queen was the one portrayed in this art and if Peter had more info on her. Soon Peter put his phone in his pocket and turned to Steph.
“Okay I let them know I’m here and that I got something important to tell them. They asked if anything bad happened but I said that I don’t think it’s bad but I wasn’t one-hundred percent sure and it would be better to explain in person. So now we just gotta wait ‘till they show up.”
Steph kept looking up at the ceiling and gave a quick “Cool.” She still didn’t know what to think or feel at this point. Peter asked, “How are you holding up?” Not wanting to tackle that yet Steph answered with her own question.
“You said something about a Pale Queen earlier. Is she the one in the drawings?”
“Yeah, it's kinda hard to explain, to be honest I still have a hard time wrapping my head around it. But she’s some sort of powerful being and the majority source of this magical gift. She can visit people in dreams, and because of this gift the three of us can talk with her fairly frequently. She was a big help during the first few days.”
Okay Steph thought, add magical dream goddess to the list of weird shit in this town. Steph then remembered something else Peter said earlier.
“You said something about a note in here complaining about Hollywood werewolves or something?”
“Oh yea, here give me just a sec.”
Peter got up and opened one of the large storage bins and pulled out a thin binder with a single page in a plastic protection sleeve.
“We found this and some other stuff in an old box. You can read through this while I grab some other things. It helps explain a lot of this stuff.”
Steph sat up and looked at the letter, she saw it was handwritten and thankfully wasn’t in cursive, she began reading.
Notes:
Perseverance pt2 will be posted either later tonight or tomorrow morning. I hope this two parter will make up for the longer wait.
Chapter 5: Perseverance pt2
Summary:
Steph reads about the last werewolf before Peter and co. and the two of them have a bit of a heart to heart as they let the feelings they've been holding on to go.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
“June 21st, 1981. To anyone who finds this place, my name is Lily Album. I am sixteen years old and I am the last of the White Werewolves. I wish to tell the tragic tale of my people so it will not be lost in the misinterpretations of the old murals. According to the stories of my father we were descendants of those blessed by a being referred to with many names: The Pale Queen, The Guardian of Dreams, The Maker of Blessings from Curses and other grandiose titles.
When the first settlers from the east came to this island a small group discovered this higher being who blessed them with power to heal others and guard against nightmares. However there was one, a witch, who lived on the island. Who turned to other beings who’s designs were much darker. With their help she wrote a book of evil to channel their powers and darkness into this world. Those who had been blessed with the gifts of The Pale Queen were warned of this witch who worshiped the darkness.
Soon they took it upon themselves to try and stop this woman despite The Pale Queen’s warnings. They decided to try and interrupt the witch’s rituals by shouting and howling around her home at night, drowning out her chanting. The witch asked her lords to send a curse to those who tried to disturb her work. Then that night under the light of the full moon, those people turned into large wolves.
They ran and hid within caves where they prayed to The Pale Queen for help. Despite all her power she could not destroy a curse made by another higher being. So The Pale Queen instead changed the nature of the curse, merging it with the magic within those she had blessed. Because of this, those people could turn back into humans whenever they wanted, however whenever the full moon shined when the sun was not in the sky they could not take the forms of humans.
Over the years or so those people began to call themself the White Werewolves and began to hide their magical gifts from the town, sheltering it and passing it on to their families as a group of people began to strike down anyone who had any magic good or bad. This fear and hatred was not helped by modern stories of werewolves as bloodthirsty man-wolf hybrid monsters who spread their curse through bites like a sickness.
I was raised by my father Adam after the death of my mother in my infancy, alongside the dozen or so of us who remained. Until two years ago when I went with my father on his business trip for a week. It was during the full moon and we did not want to be alone that night. When we returned home to find all of our fellow White Werewolves dead in the woods in wolf form. Apparently a group of people struck them all on the night of the full moon to cover their tracks and make their murders look like missing persons cases.
Father and I tried to move on and hoped we could hide from those who killed our friends and family. And we did, until my father died in a car crash one week ago. I am now an orphan and will be sent to a foster family in fucking Clivesdale and I have been spiraling for the past week.
During this week I was visited by The Pale Queen for the first time in my dreams. I confided in her that I missed my family of White Werewolves, I missed my father and I was going to miss my home. She was so caring and comforting, she would let me just cry in her arms. Eventually I told her that I was scared that people would find out who I was and I would meet the same fate as them. In a fit of frustration I said that I don’t want to be a White Werewolf anymore. The Pale Queen said that if that is what I truly want then there is a way to make it happen.
She told me that magic like this cannot be destroyed while it’s still attached to my soul, but it could be removed then turned into the energy of her realm. She did this for some of the people who were first cursed back in the past. She also warned me that because I had inherited this magic and had it my whole life, because it was so deeply a part of me that to do this would be a lengthy process and it risked my memories of magic including my memories and connection to her. She told me that she would come to me next night and told me to think about her offer.
The next day I thought long and hard about what to do. Was it selfish to give up this magic to feel safer? Was it worth the risk of losing my memories of magic and of The Pale Queen? Is it wrong to rid the world of a way to help people? After the day was over I decided to have my magic taken away, as I could not shake my fears of being killed because of this. But I also came up with an idea.
I told The Pale Queen that instead of having my magic turned into energy I asked if it could be kept safe so if there was someone who could better use this magic, it could still potentially live on in someone else. Despite the fact that I did not want this burden anymore, I still wanted a way for this legacy to remain. She agreed to do it, She said to rest in the cave the next night and she will perform the ritual while I sleep and when I awake it will be in my home regardless if I keep my memories or not. The magic will then rest and grow under her care in that cave in those woods.
The cave that you will read this in, and if she has deemed you as someone who can carry this burden please heed these words. Words I wish I could be strong enough to heed myself. Perseverance is a virtue and something you should try to hold on to. Good luck out there. -Lily Album”
----
As Steph reached the end of the letter she felt a weight in her chest, like her heart was trying to sink down into her stomach. She found herself sympathetic when it came to the fears of this girl. Living in fear of what would happen to her if she was found by those who would hurt her. But above all, the fear of being alone. Steph had been trying to not think about her own situation, but it was impossible to do so now. Even with the letter stating that this curse didn’t work like it did in the movies, she was still feeling anxious. She soon realized that her eyes were starting to water, and Peter had noticed.
“Steph, are you doing okay?”
She rubbed her eyes and responded, “Yeah I think so. It’s just that- well I want to say thanks for this. For being willing to be with me.”
“What? I thought you hated me?”
“What made you think that Spankoffski?
“Well I accidentally bit you, I’m the reason you fell down a hill, I lied to you, I’m the reason you needed my help the night we first met!”
Steph suddenly realized something. “Wait, you were the wolf I saw in the woods! That’s why you were acting like it was your fault”
“Because it was, this all is! If I hadn't spooked you that night I wouldn't have needed to patch you up, you wouldn’t have have gotten close to me, we wouldn’t have had that conversation where I lied about Gabe, you wouldn’t have tried to confront me while I was trying to sneak away, you wouldn’t have tripped down that hill, I wouldn’t have needed to save you and I wouldn’t have bitten you causing you this panic and me having to tell you all of this!”
Peter took a breath after that rant. “I would hate me too after all of this.”
Steph grabbed Peter’s hand and pulled him down onto the bench beside her. “I don’t hate you Peter. If anything this is my fault, I shouldn’t have tried so hard to force the truth out of you I shouldn't have been so… persistent.
Steph released her choice of words and decided to clear a few more things up. “Hey Pete, did you or your friends ever consider giving up this magic stuff like Lily did?”
Peter rubbed the back of his neck. “Kinda? At first we were anxious and scared of being exposed but we were also excited. Magic and stuff was real, we were like superheroes. Now I can’t speak for Richie and Ruth, but I currently keep this gift because it’s like what the note said, save the magic for someone who can better use and appreciate it. And I want to prove that I was a good choice and not take the coward's way out. Besides, the three of us promised each other that we would support each other and work together to make this work. And we agreed we would only give up our gift if we did it together with no other option. She was alone and probably traumatized. Richie, Ruth and I have each other. I'm not saying what she did was right or wrong, just that it was understandable given her circumstance."
“Is this what you want or are you just persevering like Lily hoped you would?”
“I do want to keep this magic. Up until now we’ve been good at keeping things under wraps, and if you ask me five years with one slip up is pretty good. Plus, I really enjoy being able to survive P.E. and any physical bullying without dying.”
Steph did a quick laugh and gave Peter a small smile. “Well to repeat what I said earlier I don’t blame you for what happened today. There were a lot of moving parts and things could have happened in a bunch of different ways. You didn’t need to heal me that night, you could have just ignored me after that, you could have ignored me here at camp. So don’t put all this blame on yourself. Besides this way we don’t have to hide any big secrets from each other and we can really be friends, unless you have any other bombshell secrets I should know about.”
“Well, there’s this one noodle incident thing that Ruth made me and Richie pinky promise to never talk about again, and because I don’t have a death wish that’s one thing I will not tell you.”
Steph couldn't help but laugh. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m glad that what happened today did. Because I got a chance to learn about this other side of you. And even if the odds of me having this gift too are slim to none I promise to keep all of this a secret. And thanks again for just being here for me. I guess I just didn’t want to be alone with my panic.”
“Wow, thanks. I don’t know what to say. I-” Peter suddenly stopped and put a finger to his mouth to let Steph know to be quiet. After a moment Steph could make out two other voices coming from the entryway. Peter got up and put his hands out in front of him imploring Steph to stay while he went and talked to the others.
Peter stood at the door way back to the tunnel and said with a bit more volume than normal, “Richie! Ruth! I'm in here.”
Steph heard a girl’s voice respond. “On a scale from one to ten how concerned should we be about this thing you were talking about?
“I’m pretty sure it’s a two, maybe three at most now.”
The voice of a boy came as a response. “Oh thank God. You know next time don’t scare us like that. Or at the very least make this stuff less cryptic. So what did you need to tell us in person?”
Peter took a deep breath. “Well, you know how after that night in late May I’ve actually been getting along with Steph.”
“Yeah we do, you lucky son of a bitch.”
“And how we have been spending time together at camp.”
“Did Jerry jr. stop you two from really getting to know each other or something?”
“Jesus Ruth no!”
“Then what is it?”
“Well…”
Peter stepped back and lifted his arms toward Steph as two people Richie and Ruth presumably, walked into the room. The girl, who was probably Ruth, had a t-shirt that read “Don’t lose your head!” in green text, gray exercise pants, brown curly hair and on her head was some head gear. The boy, who was probably Richie, had a jacket with fire designs on one side and ice designs on the other, black cargo shorts, and the hairdo of someone who had no idea how no how to use hair gel correctly.
The two of them stood there with eyes the size of dinner plates and their jaws on the floor as Peter said, “She learned that I’m a werewolf. She promised to keep this all secret so I’ve been explaining stuff she’s asked about. I hope you don't mind…”
He said that last part with quite a bit of apprehensive fear in his voice. After Richie and Ruth recovered from their brains restarting the two of them turned to Peter and began to stare daggers at him. Steph had a feeling that this was about to get interesting.
Notes:
I hope you enjoyed this two-parter. Hopefully the next chapter won't be as long of a wait, but I'm not making any promises.
Chapter 6: Quotes and Questions
Summary:
Richie and Ruth process Steph learning the group's secret.
Notes:
I've got to except that one chapter in a week or less isn't always doable. Anyway get ready for another chapter with lots of dialog, because with three times the nerds there will be lots of rambling.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
“What the Fuck happened Pete!”
“Yeah, you got some explaining to do!”
“Okay! I heard you guys! Just-”
Richie cut Peter off with, “Whatever happened to the whole, ‘I swear to whoever or whatever runs this place, I will be careful’ Pete?”
“I’m sorry, but I-”
This time Ruth cut in with, “So we’re just telling everyone everything now! What’s next you’re going to write a musical about the noodle incident?”
“I just mentioned its existence! I would never-”
“You did what?!”
At this point Steph decided to step in. “Hey, if you want your answers you gotta give him time to talk.”
Richie turned to Steph. “You stay out of this! Because of you now we-”
“RICHIE, RUTH, SHUT UP!” After everyone stopped and stared at Peter, he continued. “I have been dealing with a lot today. I was hoping you two would at the very least let me explain, but no. So if you two could at least wait until after I tell you what happened that would be appreciated.”
With that display of understandable frustration from Peter, Richie and Ruth sat down in two of the bean bag chairs and Peter began his story.
“It started when I ran into Jerry jr. on the way to camp. I agreed to visit him when it was convenient. Last night I was with him as he did his thing and saw most of it. The next morning, thinking it was common camp news I told Steph about it, it was not. So I told a quick lie to try and cover my ass but Steph realized something wasn’t adding up. After dinner I tried to just come here but Steph wanted to know what was going on. I tried to just run here and lose her but she tripped and started to tumble down a fairly steep hill. Panicking, I transformed so I could get to her in time to stop her on a more level ledge on the hill. It kinda worked but I had to grab her by the shirt to pull her to safety. I changed back and began to heal her cause the cat was out of the bag at this point. I explained the basics to her after she promised to keep this all secret. Then I realized that when I grabbed Steph, I accidentally bit her. She began to freak out and I told her that it probably doesn't work that way, but she was still scared. So I decided to bring her here so we could talk things out and give her the safe space we didn’t have on the miniscule chance she transformed tonight. Plus I wanted everyone here to explain things and discuss how things should go going forward. I just didn’t expect to have my ears nearly blasted out by you two in the process.”
After a moment Steph remarked, “I’m not as worried about transforming tonight as I was a few moments ago, but I still appreciate Pete letting me stay for a bit. And like he said, I promise to never tell anyone about any of this. And if I ever do, you guys are willing to roast me at the stake.”
Ruth asked, “Do you swear on the soul of your father Domingo Montoia, you will keep this secret?”
Steph smirked and replied with, “Throw me the rope.”
“Welp, I’m sold.”
Richie whipped his head to the side and shouted, “Ruth! Are you really going to take her word because of a Princess Bride reference?”
“Yes. Besides, you would probably do the same thing for an InuYasha reference.”
“Whatever, but I am still concerned about all of this. Pete, are you sure this was the best idea?”
Peter turned to Steph who gave him a reassuring look, then looked back to Richie. “To be honest, at first I wasn’t sure. But after talking with Steph I think it will be alright.”
Richie pinched the bridge of his nose muttering “okay” on repeat for a bit before taking a deep breath and declaring “Okay! I’ll roll with this for now. But!”
Richie looked Steph dead in the eye “If you do or say anything funny Stephanie, I will take you up on that offer to roast you. Got it?”
“Aye aye, captain.”
“Good. Now we got a while before moonrise, is there anything else we need to talk about.”
“Well if you guys are up to it I still have a few random questions.”
“Only if I can ask you some questions too.”
“Fine by me. You can go first.”
Peter went over to one of the big bins and started pulling DVDs out. “By the way I’m going to start setting things up for a marathon night, I’ll try to be part of this conversation but my attention will be elsewhere.”
Richie gave a thumbs up and turned to Steph. “So what has he told you?”
“Well, you three got these powers when you were camping here when you were thirteen. You guys can turn into wolves and back except nights on the full moon when you're stuck as wolves. You can magically heal wounds, and shield dreams from nightmares. You’re slightly faster, stronger, tougher than normal teens and have slightly heightened senses. You know the Lumber Axe who’s actually the bastard son of the Jerrys. There’s this dream goddess thing that apparently has something to do with this. And I’ve read Lily Album’s letter.”
“Okay, that is pretty much it. There are some things that have a bit more to it but yeah, that’s like eighty percent of it.”
“And one of those things I’m curious about is this Pale Queen thing?”
“Unfortunately she’s a bit of a riddle wrapped inside an enigma. But she might have first showed up the night before it first happened but she definitely appeared in our dreams the night afterwards. She didn’t say much, just gave a quick gist of what happened to us and if we wanted to know more head back to the cave and look for the letter. After that she would show up every now and again and clear up some of the questions about all of this we had but questions about her were always half answered or danced around. What we do know is that she has some sort of omnipresence, she can’t affect reality, and she has brothers who are very bad. They were the ones the witch asked to curse her followers in the past.”
“Huh, I’ll have to process that for a bit. How’d you guys handle all this non-scientific magic stuff?”
“First, do you plan to stay here all night or till moonrise and it's proven you're fine?”
“At first it was just till moonrise but now I dunno. Hey Pete what’cha setting up over there?”
Peter was part way through setting up a simple PVC pipe and sheet screen for an at home projector. “Well I have an especially hard time sleeping on these nights so I got a bunch of DVDs with TV shows I like and this home movie projector kit I got at a yard sale. I set it up for when I stay up all night so I’m not bored. By the way, any suggestions from you two?”
Ruth chimed in with, “I’m feeling either MythBusters or Star Wars: The Clone Wars.”
Richie answered, “I don’t care.” before turning back to Steph. “Now to answer your question about us handling the existence of magic. That’s kinda difficult to answer because it happened young enough that I was only starting to rely on science and reasoning to understand things. I still held onto that feeling that there was something about this world that was magical, that stuff in the shows I watched might have some truth to them. So I’ll say my answer is, Okay-ish? I think because of how many magical or super power animes I’ve watched, I was kinda excited that something like it was real. I remember thinking ‘Whoa, magic like in Wolf Children is real!’ or something like that.”
“Well,” Ruth said, “I was over the moon, pun intended, after reading stuff like Harry Potter and eventually Twilight as a kid and early teen. Peter on the other hand was a mess. Weren't cha’ Petey?” The last bit said in a teasing mocking tone.
As Peter walked over to plug the projector into the Comlink, he gave Richie and Ruth a tired annoyed look. “Well sorry I was better at separating fantasy from reality when I was thirteen.”
Steph smiled at Peter and turned back to Richie and Ruth before asking, “Have there been situations where you guys had to miss something or have there been any near misses with this secret?”
Ruth answered before Richie could say something. “Yes, it sucks. Every year there’s at least one day of rehearsal I have to miss because it’s a full moon. Thank God I’ve never had to miss a performance yet. In fact to try and prevent suspicion the three of us started an astronomy club with monthly moon observations so we have an excuse to miss stuff. In reality we just chat or do homework every Wednesday in Mr. Johnson’s classroom with the words ‘Astronomy Club!’ on the whiteboard.”
“Ruth,” Richie said, “We didn’t get to ask her our question yet.”
Ruth put her hands up like someone who’d been caught, but in a way that made it clear it was somewhat done mockingly. “Well sorry if I want to have a conversation with Stephanie. You know this isn’t a Spanish Inquisition, right?”
“I just want to make sure everything’s going to be alright. And I’m doing that by getting the information that I need in order to know what we need to do moving forward.”
Steph gave a slight sigh. “I can only imagine what it’s like to keep a secret of this magnitude for five years, but I’ve also kept stuff secret for other people before. So I will say it again, I promise not to tell anyone about this.”
Richie ran a hand through his hair and gave a bigger sigh then Steph did moments ago. “I guess I’m just stressed about all of this.”
“Understandable.”
“This is how I’m trying to handle it, filling in the blanks so I can make the best choices possible and prevent a catastrophe. Also, how am I the one who’s freaking out the most? You’re the one who has a self diagnosed anxiety disorder.”
Ruth answered, “Well, the main reason is I know Stephanie can keep a secret. One time in sixth grade when I got a period leak I went to the nurse to get a new pad and wait for my mom to get me some new pants. While I was there she was also in the nurse's office with a headache. She told me that she wouldn’t say anything about this, and she didn’t. I was never teased for leaking blood at school.”
“I actually forgot about that. I thought that you were going to say it was because I got that Princess Bride quote.”
“That did help.”
Peter sat down on the bench next to Steph to join in now that the projector was set up. “Well I’ve gotten to know Steph really well over these past few weeks, and I trust her.”
“Thanks Pete.”
“Now that I’m done setting that up, I wanted to suggest Steph joining our Discord server if everyone’s okay with that.”
“Fine by me.”
“I don’t mind.”
“Don’t know how much I’ll use it but good to have if I need to tell you guys something.”
“Alright, we'll take care of that when camp is done. Second order of business, Steph I got MythBusters ready to go and some supplies you can borrow. Do you want to stay here after moonrise?”
“You know what, yes. I haven’t watched anything in weeks and I know I’m going to get an earful from Grace anyway, so I’ll stay here and deal with her in the morning. If that’s cool with you two.”
Ruth nodded with a smile on her face while Richie answered, “Yeah. I was planning on spending most of the night out at one of the courses, so it’s whatever.”
“Okay then, guess I’m staying.”
Ruth did a fist pump, “Yes! My first sleepover with a girl!” She turned to the boys and said, “No offense.”
They both responded with “None taken.” at the same time. Peter then quickly shouted “Jinks! Instead of a soda could you do me a favor and bring up a big thing of M&Ms tomorrow? My stash in here is nearly empty because the leaders at check-in took the stuff I bought for camp because ‘Sugar rots your teeth and your soul.’ and gave me funking raisins as replacement.
“Oh, shit! Yeah I can do that. I’ll drop it off here before tomorrow night.”
“Thanks Richie.” Peter turned towards Steph, “So, all us have blankets and one of those sleeping bags you can unzip all the way to fold out into a padded square. I’m willing to give mine up so you won’t get cold.”
Peter opened one of the big bins and started pulling out some thick sleeping bags and some blankets.
“Thanks, but I’m good with a blanket and the cushioned bench.”
“Are you sure Steph?”
“Yeah, it’s fine. That way none of us have to sleep on a bare stone floor. Besides, I've slept in worst places before, especially after parties. I tend to sleep warm so I don’t think I’ll need something that heavy. Also, I’m looking at how much fur is on those things and I don’t know if the camp has a lint and hair roller.”
Peter looked down at the sleeping bag he just laid out and saw that it was indeed covered in fur.
“Okay fair.”
As he continued laying out the unzipped sleeping bags in front of the projector screen Ruth pulled her bean bag chair over, sat down on her sleeping bag and waved Steph over. Steph got up and sat down in front of the screen.
“So Stephanie, I’ve watched dozens of slumber party episodes growing up but I also know Hollywood can’t show everything that happens. So tell me, what you and the popular girls do at sleepovers.”
“Well when we were younger Brenda, Stacy and I would paint each other's nails, play games like truth or dare and watch a movie. But now we just talk, well they mostly talk while I’m on my phone, about boys and fashion trends and other stuff like that while a movie plays in the background.”
“Oh.”
“If you ask me, Hollywood makes them more complicated just to set up conflict for the episode. But if you want we can just keep talking till we fall asleep like those two do.”
“Unfortunately, we can only do that for a bit before I’ve got to change and there’s a language barrier.”
“Oh right. By the way, I take it you guys can understand each other as wolves?”
“Yeah, it’s not quite like thought-speak from Animorphs, we have to actually “speak” out loud but we hear it as our own voices and we can understand each other even when we’re not transformed.”
“What’s Animorphs?”
Ruth’s eyes went wide with shock, Richie and Peter instantly turned to look at Steph with looks of shock too. Steph realized that she might have unleashed something.
Peter was the first to break the silence after checking his watch. “It’s 8:22, so we got a little over an hour. Animorphs is a book series about…”
Notes:
Steph is in for it now.
Since I only have one shift this weekend and Monday and Tuesday off because of Veterans Day I might have the next chapter out soon, but like I said before no promises.
Chapter 7: Normal is Overrated
Summary:
After a lengthy rollercoaster of a conversation, it's just a few minuets until moonrise.
Notes:
Guess who just had a four day weekend to get this done, this gal.
This is it, the chapter where we finally learn if Steph is a werewolf of not. Hope enjoy even if the answer isn't what you'd expected.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
The three of them began a lengthy explanation about the Animorphs books and what thought-speak was, Steph was impressed how these three seemed to just bounce off one another from topic to topic. Soon all four of them started talking about telekinesis, super powers, superheroes, Spider Man, that one Spider Man musical, who’s the best Spider man, In to the Spider-Verse, the animation of that movie, how traditional 2D animation is better, how Spirited Away is the best movie ever, the lesser known mangas by Hayao Miyazaki, the difference between manga and comic books, Peter and Ruth warning Steph not to get Richie started, manga storylines vs anime storylines, Naruto, how Richie made some training courses in these woods inspired by it, that one time Peter over shot his leap over a beam and ended up in the river, that one time at Ruth’s fourteenth B-day party she had tried to break the pinata with the plastic toy bat and ended up breaking the bat instead.
Steph laughed and asked, “Why were you guys using a plastic bat from a toy set?”
Ruth gave a frustrated sigh. “We didn’t have anything else at my parent’s place. I did soccer as a kid, not tee-ball.”
Peter pointed at Richie with his thumb like hitchhikers do. “Richie and I ended up just holding the pinata while Ruth punched it open.”
Steph laughed once more wondering how she never knew these three were actually kinda fun to be around. “By the way, why don’t you guys try out for any sports? With your guys' enhanced strength and speed you guys could dominate in whatever you go for.”
Peter answered, “Steph, long before this happened we were labeled as nerds. And nerds are not allowed to try out for sports. The closest any of us will ever get is Richie being our school mascot Zeek at games.”
Richie jumped in and said, “Besides we don’t want to risk being so good it raises suspicion and makes people go ‘Hey, how can these teenage nerds who have never done sports before, rival the performance of professional athletes?’ So, I purposefully don’t go too nuts as Zeek, just some jumping around and maybe a cartwheel or two.”
Steph thought about it for a sec before saying, “Yeah that makes sense. By the way there’s one more big thing I’ve been wanting to ask you guys if you feel up to answering.”
Richie raised an eyebrow, “That being?”
“What was it like the first time you transformed, what was it like suddenly being in a different body?”
Peter, Richie and Ruth gave each other looks of remembrance and questioning, as if asking who should be the one to explain. Eventually Peter started talking.
“Well when we’re forced to transform it doesn't hurt, it just feels weird. Have you ever started falling asleep and then your leg just suddenly kicked for no reason?”
Steph nodded. “A few times, yeah.”
“Imagine that feeling but for your whole body combined with that pins and needles feeling of an asleep limb waking up. Luckily it only lasts for a second and we can avoid that feeling by transforming a minute or two before moonrise. And willing transformations don’t have that feeling, just a sort of numbness for a moment.”
Peter took a breath before continuing. “As for the first night this happened we were all at home alone in our rooms when it happened. When it happened to me I was disoriented for a bit before I started to panic. Luckily my parents were out and my brother who was there to watch me was already asleep on the couch with the TV on so he didn’t notice anything. Anyway, after a bit I tried to convince myself it was all just a dream so I forced myself to just lie in bed and fall asleep so I could wake up. After a nightmare of being chased by a monster in the woods I woke up and was still a wolf. Before I could panic all over again I got a notification on my phone, I tried to grab it out of instinct but knocked it off my nightstand with my paws. In that moment I remember thinking ‘I wish I had hands again.’ then there was a flash of soft light and I was me again. After a brief moment of relief my phone buzzed again, it was Richie and Ruth in our group text.”
Peter pulled out his phone and scrolled towards an old string of messages, then showed it to Steph.
- - - -
July 2nd 2015 6:17 am
Richie: GUYS TELL ME YOURE OK
Ruth: I think so?
Wait did something weird happen to you guys too?
Richie: I think that thing in the cave did something cause last night I transformed into a wolf I know it sounds crazy but it also sounds like it wasnt just me
I transformed last night too.
Ruth: So it did happen to all of us.
Let’s meet up here at my place so we can talk about this.
- - - -
“At first we just panicked and vented to each other all ‘How is this happening? This isn’t scientifically possible!’ After a bit Richie wanted to test some things. My family’s backyard borders the woods so we headed back there to avoid being seen.”
Riche spoke up. “See like Pete I woke up still a wolf but after calming down and focusing I turned back. So I wanted to test if it was controllable.”
“So for the next few hours we experimented. We figured out how to transform and back, how we could communicate, how backpacks didn’t disappear and reappear but clothing and things in our pockets did. Where that stuff goes is still a mystery because when we transform with our phones in our pockets it's like they’re shut down, they don’t get texts or anything till we transform back. But when we transform with a watch on, the time is correct when we change back. Anyway, at first being a wolf felt off. It’s not at all like crawling on all fours. Your front limbs can’t move like normal because of the shoulder placement, your “hands” are stretched out and your body weight is on the heels of your hand. The hind legs are even more different, your thighs and shins shrink and your foot stretches out so the natural way to stand is on tiptoes. Your mouth is longer, you have ears you can adjust to hear better, and a tail that wasn’t there before. It took some time to get used to.”
“Not to mention walking and running,” Ruth chimed in.
“Yes, it took some trial and error and some YouTube videos of running dogs to get the hang of moving around with four legs but we got there. Now we barely have to think about it, we just do it. Same with learning how to heal and make Dream Catchers. I can’t really describe it, I can just do it now, like making my arm move.”
Just then an alarm went off on Peter’s phone, he quickly turned it off before saying, “That was the five minute warning guys.”
Richie stood up and stretched for a bit before turning back to the group. “Well I don’t know how long I’ll be at the training course but I’ll be back later tonight.”
Richie then transformed into his wolf form. Steph noticed that he had different colored fur then Peter. While Peter had dark brown not quite black fur that was a little lighter on his paws, muzzle and chin, Richie had light dirt brown fur with some gray along his back, neck and top half of his head.
As he ran out of the cave he barked something to which Ruth responded with, “Hey pot, meet kettle.” Then there was one more distant bark before Ruth gave a half hearted bird to the cave exit.
“What did he say?”
“He said don’t stay up too late, then he said fuck you.”
“And all that sounded like normal English to you?”
“Yep.”
By this point Peter had walked over to the projector, turned it on and was messing with the remote.
“Okay Steph, I’m going to get this rolling while I still have thumbs. After that Ruth and I are just going to transform, lie down and enjoy the show. So unless you have anything else you want to talk about in four minutes, do it now before it’s nothing but barks and nodding yes or no.”
Steph smirked before asking, "What is the secret to true happiness?”
“Well according to my brother it’s money, cars and women.”
With that Peter hit play on MythBusters and sat down on his folded out sleeping bag. Before he transformed he turned to look at Steph, “Hey whatever happens going forward I’ll be there to help.”
“Thanks Pete.” Steph wanted to say more but didn’t know what to say. She wanted to apologize for starting all of this, but they’d been over that like twice by now. And deep down Steph was kinda glad she learned about this. Peter was one of the first people she genuinely enjoyed spending time with in years. Even with all this magic werewolf mumbo-jumbo, Steph still wanted to spend time with him. Hell now there wouldn’t be this tension between them as Peter didn’t have to worry about keeping this secret from her. Then again she now had to keep this secret too, but she was willing to do it.
Then the last minute nerves of whether or not the bite had spread it to her began to creep in as the seconds passed by. But she wasn’t truly scared, if he and his friends could live with this she could too. So taking a deep breath she said the words she was looking for.
“By the way, even if I transform tonight. I won’t regret getting to know this side of you.”
Peter had a look of shock on his face, mixed with another emotion Steph couldn’t quite place. “Wow, thanks.”
Ruth elbowed Peter with a mischievous look on her face.
“Ruth, shut it.”
“But I didn't even said anything.”
“Whatever.”
Peter and Ruth transformed while Steph pulled one of the blankets over her and got comfy in the bean bag chair. Like Richie, Ruth’s wolf form was different from Peter’s. Hers was more of a chocolate brown with some lighter brown on her paws, stomach, chest and face. Hers was also a bit smaller than Richie’s and Peter’s wolf forms.
The two of them started talking about something while Steph just focused on watching the show. While she had definitely heard of MythBusters before, she had never watched it. As she continued watching these guys try to figure out if a water heater could explode and launch into the sky like a rocket, she found it kinda entertaining. After watching for a while she realized that it had been easily over fifteen minutes and she hadn’t transformed into a wolf yet.
Steph felt a wave of relief wash over her. Yes she was burdened with this secret, but she didn’t have to worry about hiding from the world once a month. Steph took a deep breath that Peter and Ruth noticed. They also realized that she hadn't transformed. Peter got up and laid his head on Steph's lap, as if he wanted to comfort her and say, “Sorry for making you worry so much.”
Steph gave Peter a quick head rub. “Yeah, I’m all right. Thanks again for being here for me.”
Ruth who was watching this interaction began to say something that made Peter get up and snap something back. The two of them lied down again and went back to watching MythBusters. All three of them ended up sitting in silence, watching the show for the rest of the night.
As Steph started to drift off to sleep she thought about how utterly bizarre this day had been. Her friend was a werewolf, magic was undeniably real and even though she wasn’t one of them she was now a keeper of this secret and her life would never be normal again. Well as normal as your life could be as the daughter of the mayor of Hatchetfield. Then again normal was overrated.
- - - -
Steph awoke the next morning to find Richie and Ruth still in wolf form sprawled out on the sleeping bags in front of her and Peter, now human again, sitting on the bench eating a granola bar.
“Morning Steph. Did you sleep well last night?”
Steph threw the blanket off of her, got up and walked over to join Peter on the bench. “Yeah, I slept alright. What time is it?”
Peter checked his watch, “It is 7:04. The morning wake up call bugle at camp is at seven, so we should probably head back to camp before people notice we aren’t at breakfast.” Peter grabbed another granola bar from a box on top of the bin in front of him. “Granola bar before we go?”
Steph took the snack. “Thanks.” She sat down on the bench and ate as Peter finished his and put the box back in his personal bin. He then pulled out a spiral bound notebook and pen and began to write something down.
“Just letting Richie and Ruth know where we are when they wake up.” He tore the page from the notebook and left it on bin. It read, “Steph and I are heading back to camp now to not raise suspicion. See you guys later. P.S. Richie don’t forget the M&Ms.”
Steph finished her pre-breakfast and stood back up. “As much as I don’t want to, I’m ready to head back to camp.”
With that the two of them started walking out of the cave. Peter cleared his throat and said, “So, you’re still normal.”
Steph gave a quick laugh that was more just an exhale. “Yeah, still have to keep all of this a secret though.”
“Thank you for being so open and understanding and not running away in terror upon learning about all of this.”
“Thanks to my dad I always knew there was something abnormal about this island. I just didn’t know it was this abnormal.”
“Again thanks Steph.”
As Peter led Steph through the vines blocking the exit to the outside world, the morning light shone bright on a clear orange sky. After adjusting to the light, Steph turned to Peter with a small smile and an idea. “Hey sense we should get back sooner rather than later to avoid suspicion, mind giving me a ride?”
“I was already thinking the same thing.”
Peter transformed and Steph got on his back, this time a little more certain of what she was doing. Once she had a good grip the two of them bolted off back towards camp.
Notes:
So Steph in not a werewolf. At least for now...
I think it'll be over a week until the next update, next chapter will be a bit more light hearted so who knows if that will speed up or slow down my writing process, we'll see.
Chapter 8: Out on the Water
Summary:
Steph and Peter start settling into a bit of a routine. Soon camp is almost over and the two of them start to prepare for the big end of camp activity known as the Trial of Faith.
Notes:
This chapter was going to be a bit different until I decided to have one more story beat at camp. I remembered an old church summer camp movie that had a trial of faith as the climax and I just ran with the idea. I hope this was a good direction to go in and I hope you like it.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
After a few minutes Peter and Steph got within a few hundred yards of camp. Peter came to a stop and Steph got off. She figured Peter didn’t want to get too close to camp looking like a large wolf, and she was right.
As soon as he turned back to normal Peter said, “Technically I could've gotten closer and been fine, but I don’t want to risk it.”
“I get it. You don’t want to go through the same thing again with someone who might tell.”
As the two of them made it back to camp and to the mess hall for breakfast they were lucky there was still a little bit of a line, meaning they weren’t noticeably late. Unfortunately, their entrance was noticed by one Grace Chasity.
“Steph! There you are! Thank goodness you’re okay, I was so worried when you didn’t show up at the cabins last night. I was just about to find Boy Jerry and Girl Jeri to ask them to organize a rescue party.”
Steph was a bit taken back by Grace’s energy. “Grace relax, everything is fine. We heard there was a full moon last night so me and Peter decided to do some moon watching and stargazing. We ended up just sleeping under the stars last night.”
Grace opened her mouth to say something, but Steph cut her off. “And before you ask, no we did not kiss or touch each other or anything like that.”
Peter jumped in with, “Yep, just stargazing with no funny business.”
Grace sighed. “Well okay. Just tell me the next time you decide to go and disappear.”
With that Grace went back to her yogurt and granola. Steph turned to Peter and asked in a quiet voice, “Do you think she believed us?”
“I hope so. If the Jerry’s bring it up we’ll just tell them the same thing.”
Steph and Peter got their breakfast and started going about their day together participating in the various camp activities. Eventually while the two of them were making key chains, they were approached by Boy Jerry who asked them to come with them to the main office where Girl Jeri was waiting. Boy Jerry was the first to speak.
“So word around camp is you two decided to spend the night alone, just the two of you.”
While Steph thought to herself, “Thanks Chasity.” Peter answered with, “Yes, and what’s wrong with that?”
“What’s wrong with that?! I’ll tell you what’s wrong with that!”
Boy Jerry proceeded to go on a rant about temptation and how boys like Peter and girls like Steph are always getting up to stuff and how he ought to serve them burgers topped with strawberry jam, whatever that meant.
After a while Steph spoke up. “I’m telling you nothing happened last night. Besides, we didn't want to risk invoking Lumber Axe or whatever.”
Boy Jerry huffed, “Fine.” before continuing. “Just remember you two are on thin ice. If I ever hear about you two getting up to no good again, it’ll be solitary confinement for the rest of the summer for you two. Now go make some key chains!”
With that the two of them made a quick exit. As Steph started walking away she turned to find Peter putting an ear up to the door. Curious she tried to listen in too but couldn’t make out much, just when one or the other was talking. Suddenly Peter grabbed Steph’s hand and pulled her to the side of the building before Boy Jerry and Girl Jeri left the office and walked away.
“Damn Spankoffski, this can not be your first time doing some spying like this. What did you hear?”
“The two of them discussed whether they should talk to Lumby, as Boy Jerry calls him, to ask if he came across us last night and Girl Jeri agreeing to make the trek to his place and ask.”
“Should we be worried?”
“I don’t think so. If we did cross his line he would have let us know. Besides, he calls me one of his “wolf friends” so I don’t think we’ll be fine.”
The two of them went about their day without any other problems. After dinner they agreed to meet up at one of the campfires after Peter went back to the cave to restock his candy bag with the M&Ms Richie got. After half an hour or so Peter came back and sat down next to Steph.
“Did you get what you needed Pete?”
Peter taped on one of his pockets. “Yep, got them right here. I’ll probably head up there every few days or so to restock but I got enough to last me through camp now.”
“That’s good to hear.”
Peter spoke in a whisper as he told Steph, “By the way I ran into and talked to Lumber Axe on the way there.”
Steph whispered back, “Really?”
“Yeah he said that his mom asked him if he heard or saw anything lately. He told her about Gabe but not us, so we’re in the clear.”
“Thank God.”
The two of them enjoyed each other's company before turning in for the night
- - - -
Over the next two weeks Peter and Steph hung out with each other as much as they could without raising the suspicion of the Jerrys. They went to the same activities together and sat around the same campfire pit every night. They soon found that canoeing was their favorite activity, as they could be seen by the lifeguard but not heard. Meaning they could talk about whatever they wanted and the camp leaders could see that they weren’t doing anything inappropriate. The two of them had many conversations, not just about werewolf stuff but about their interests and about each other. But werewolf stuff was still a common conversation topic.
Peter would have conversations talking about Pokemon, Spider-Man or stories about his childhood between answering questions like, “How fast can you go as a wolf?”, “Do you need to wear earplugs or headphones during loud events like on the fourth of July?” or “What were you and Ruth talking about that night?” To which the answers were, “About forty miles per hour, but only for a few minutes.”, “I can watch fireworks and be fine I guess, but I always wear earplugs that night.” and “Oh, uh, nothing. Just Ruth being well, Ruth.”
While Peter usually rambled on, which Steph found to be kinda enjoyable to listen to, Steph would sometimes go into her own ramblings. Such as how awful her dad is or some Twitter debate she got roped into once or her own childhood stories. Like how during their fifth grade end of the school year field trip to Watcher World, she went on The Tear Jerker and nearly lost her lunch but was able to hold it in until she got to a restroom. Which led Peter to tell her how on that field trip, he lost his glasses to The Eye Drop ride. The two of them laughed like they did the several times they had conversations like this.
But sometimes they would have more serious conversations like, “Is there any way to have a healthy relationship with my dad, or am I better off just cutting ties with him after I move out?” or “If the gift is passed down to any hypothetical children I have, how would I handle something like that?” In the end they usually came to the conclusion that they should take things one step at a time and hope they would eventually figure it out.
As they came to a stop on the water Steph continued with their conversation topic for today. “Did you hear about this Trial of Faith thing the Jerrys said is coming up at the end of the week? Because I don’t know what they're talking about.”
“Oh yeah. I asked Gabe about it and it’s not as bad as it sounds. He said it’s a camp tradition where all the campers team up and compete in this riddle scavenger hunt race thing. He described it as ‘Sunday School taught by Indiana Jones.’”
“Huh, doesn't sound terrible. If we can pick partners we should definitely pair up. Oh, how’s Gabe doing by the way.”
“He’s doing fine. I overheard Grace say something about how well Gabe’s been doing lately.”
“Well that’s good, I think.”
“By the way Steph, did you know that-” he stopped mid sentence after noticing that his shoe felt wet. He looked down and yep, there was a small puddle in the canoe.
Steph had also looked down and noticed the water. “Shit! I remember Grace saying something about a leaky canoe.”
“Don’t worry I'll bring us back.”
It didn’t take long for Peter to row the boat back to the dock where Simon, the camp lifeguard, noticed their quick return. “You two are usually out there for a bit longer than that.”
As they got the canoe back on the shore, Steph stepped out and turned towards Simon. “Yeah, we just accidentally took the canoe with a leak.”
“Oh darn, I thought that one was fixed. I’ll let Boy Jerry know.”
Once Peter pulled the canoe onto the beach next to the other canoes Simon pulled a sign from the rack of boating and water supplies that read, ‘Leaky do not use!’ and put it on the canoe. With that taken care of, the two of them started walking towards the cabins to change out of their wet socks.
Along the way they came across a signup sheet for the Trail of Faith on the announcement board. Next to it was an announcement that read, “The annual end of camp Trial of Faith is coming up this Friday. If you don’t want randomly assigned partners please use the signup sheet to request who you want to compete with.”
The two of them looked at each other and nodded, they both knew what the other was thinking. They walked over and put their names down on the sign up sheet. Just then Boy Jerry and Girl Jeri walked around the bend, and Boy Jerry immediately put two and two together.
“Hold on, what do you two think you’re doing? Because if you two think that you can be partners after the stunt you pulled two weeks ago, think again.”
Before Steph or Peter could try to defend themselves Girl Jeri did it for them. “Hold on Boy Jerry, everyday Simon reports that Stephanie And Peter canoe on the lake and do nothing more than high-five and stuff like that. I think they’ve proven that they will behave themselves if they partner up for this.”
Boy Jerry looked lost in thought for a moment, like he was trying to come up with a good rebuttal but couldn’t. So he just muttered “Fine, whatever.” and continued walking to wherever he and Girl Jeri needed to be.
Peter turned to Steph and shrugged. “Well, at least it worked itself out.”
- - - -
As the week went on most campers were abuzz with preparing for the Trial of Faith, going over popular Bible stories and practicing riddles. Meanwhile, Steph and Peter just continued on with their week until the day before The Trial of Faith. As the two of them were once again out on the water Steph noticed an odd look on Peter’s face.
“Hey Spankoffski, you doing okay?”
“Oh, yeah just thinking about how camp is almost over. In about forty eight hours we can finally get out of this place with its endless virginity lessons and arts and crafts activities. Seriously, when am I ever going to need all the crap we made here?”
“Tell me about it. I don’t know how I would have survived without you Pete.”
Peter’s face started to turn red. He tried his hardest to not have Steph notice, but she did. “Oh, wow, uh… Hey Steph, do you think we should prepare at least a little for the Trial of Faith?”
“Depends, how much do you care about not being last?”
“Not that much, I guess? I’m just used to always putting in a bunch of effort at school. I guess that some part of my brain still thinks that this is important, but I have to remember this isn’t school.”
“God, don't remind me that school is starting soon, and our senior year too. I don’t know whether I should be happy that I only have one more year to deal with or stressed that I need to make a decision on what to do next.”
“I get that. As much as I love learning, I'm glad that I have only one more year of bullying from Max to deal with.”
“I know Max is a jerk, but is he really that bad?”
“He’s a literal monster! And I’m only slightly exaggerating!”
“I know it’s not my place to say, but why don’t you stand up to him? Use your strength to fight back?”
“Max has been like this since the fourth grade. We didn't get the gift until the summer between sixth and seventh grade. The social hierarchy was already firmly in place by then, and we didn’t know the full extent of our physical abilities for a year or two. At this point it’s better to just pretend his punches really hurt to give him the reaction he wants and survive until we graduate in June.”
“That is bull shit. When school starts up I’m going to try and talk some sense into him.”
“Steph don’t, please. If you get involved Max will just double down on his bullying. We’ll be lucky if he even lets us talk to each other.”
The two of them sat in an uneasy silence for a little bit. Steph was aware that Max could be a bully, but she didn’t know how bad it could get. And now that she was friends with one of Max’s targets she couldn’t help but feel crummy and hopeless in this situation. Still Steph was determined to try and do something about it come September.
“Pete, if Max ever gives you a really bad time in the future you can come to me. As much as being the mayor’s daughter sucks, it means that Max leaves me alone. If you’re with me at school I’ll just say you're helping me tutor or something, and I’ll make sure he leaves you alone.”
Peter gave a quick humorless laugh. “Thanks. I think I can continue to handle things myself, but I’ll take you up on that offer if I need to.”
Steph hoped Peter was being serious about this. Steph knew she didn’t know what he’d gone through over the years. Between keeping this huge secret and this apparent bullying she could only imagine the amount of stress and pressure Peter and his friends were dealing with. For now she just hoped that she could help him feel less helpless.
“Look Spankoffski, all I’m saying is I want to keep spending time with you.”
Steph could see Peter’s face starting to go red again. She could give him a hard time and tease him about it, but she didn’t. She does like Peter too after all but, not in a romantic way, obviously. Besides, even if she did like him that way, they were at Abstinence Camp. They couldn’t even kiss without the Jerrys or Lumber Axe giving them hell for it.
After a bit of awkward silence Steph quickly asked, “So, um, do you want to prep for the Trial of Faith or not?”
“Oh, uh, nan. I’ve watched a few episodes of VeggieTales before, so I think we’ll be fine. Hopefully.”
“And I kinda remember Grace’s scripture ramblings, so I think we’ll be able to finish it at least, right?”
“I guess we’ll just try to have fun then.”
“Sounds fine by me Pete.”
Notes:
What is Lautski without a little bit of denial.
Anyway the next chapter will probably be a bit due to Thanksgiving and fall finials coming up in the next two weeks. We'll see how things work out.
Chapter 9: Trial of Faith
Summary:
Steph and Peter participate in the camp's Trial of Faith.
Notes:
Sorry this took like a month to write. Between Thanksgiving, Finals, Work, Christmas, needing chill time to deal with all of that, and a limited amount of creativity this took awhile. But now it's here, I hope you enjoy it.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
In their separate cabins both Peter and Steph awoke to the sound of the morning bugle call. As the two of them met up and started walking towards the mess hall, they began to talk about their few plans and strategies for the upcoming Trial of Faith. After a special breakfast of buckwheat pancakes with berries all the kids headed towards the amphitheater where Boy Jerry and Girl Jeri began to explain the rules of the Trial of Faith.
Throughout Camp Idonwanabang there would be small piles of random stuff. Each pair of kids would receive different lists containing riddles and scriptures leading to four items. Once the four items on that list were found and brought to the Jerry’s the kids would receive one more note to the last thing needed to complete the challenge. All the pairs would be put into groups that would start at different times to try and prevent kids just following others who had the same thing on their list. Each pair would be timed starting when their group got their lists and was told “Ready, set, go.” and end when they solved the last riddle. And there would be prizes for the fastest in each group.
Steph turned to Peter who looked deep in thought, “You thinking up a strategy Spankoffski?”
It took Peter a second to register that Steph had asked him a question, “Huh? Oh, yeah, kinda? Just thinking about how depending on how difficult these riddles are and how much scripture we need to know, this might be easier then I was expecting. Still I’m not holding my breath that we'll win those prizes.”
“Honestly, I’d be happy if we made the top ten.”
Over the next few minutes each pair was called up to receive a piece of paper with their group number along with a set of instructions and rules.
Steph and Peter ended up in group three out of five. While waiting Peter began to read the rules to Steph.
“Rule one, remember to be mindful of your surroundings and to not wander into the woods. All items are at common areas of the camp except for the hiking trails.”
“Yeah that makes sense, don’t want kids running off a ledge.”
Peter gave a slight chuckle before continuing, “Rule two, each pair can have a camp provided pocket bible to aid them if they want one. No other guides or scriptures are allowed.”
“Thank God. I don’t know if we’d be able to beat this thing without some help.”
“Yeah now I’m sure we can at least beat this thing. Rule three, any sabotage of other players, items or anything else will result in immediate disqualification. And rule four, don’t forget this is all for fun.”
Steph gave a puzzled expression, “That’s it?”
Peter shrugged, “I guess so.”
After a bit of waiting group three was called down to the clearing behind the amphitheater stage. The Jerrys had a bunch of folded lists and a pile of pocket bibles on a table alongside a bunch of stopwatches to keep everyone’s time. Steph grabbed one of the bibles and the list with her and Peter’s name on it and walked back over to him.
After everyone else in their group got their lists Jeri got everyone to quiet down, “All right everyone, your Trial of Faith is about to begin. On your marks, get set, go!”
Steph quickly unfolded the paper and began to read the first thing on their list, “Some think he invented this healthy snack to make people chase, he just inspired a healthy eating craze to try and improve the human race - Hosea 7:4.” She turned to Peter, “Does that mean anything to you?”
“Maybe, let me see what this scripture is.” After flipping for a bit Peter found the passage. “They all adulterers, as an oven heated by the baker, ceaseth from raising after he hath kneaded the dough, until it be leavened.”
“Okay, how does that help us?”
“I think it’s telling us where the item we're looking for is located?”
“Well ovens make me think of the kitchen, so let’s start there.”
The two of them quickly made their way to the mess hall. As they walked in they saw another pair of kids walking away from the snack counter with an apple and out the side door.
Steph turned to Peter, “Do you think an apple is the thing we need?”
“I don’t think so, no one invented apples. Unless you count God.”
“Good point. But what could it be?”
As the two of them walked over to the snack table they saw fruit, carrot sticks, trail mix, crackers and raisins. When Steph saw the box of graham crackers, she remembered a fact she saw on Twitter once.
“Hey Pete, I don’t know if this is true but I remember reading something about how this guy invented these things to discourage sex or something?”
Peter snapped his fingers and had a look on his face like he just remembered some old random fact. “Actually, Sylvestor Graham was a guy who thought that a healthy life was one with no meat and lots of whole wheat bread. But when magazines started printing recipes for sweet whole wheat crackers they named him after Graham. So yeah that’s got to be it.”
As Peter grabbed one of the baggies with a few graham crackers, Steph asked, “But what about it supposedly stopping sex or whatever?”
“Apparently he also believed that having too much sex as a teen would make kids grow weak.”
“I imagine the Jerrys are a fan of this guy. By the way, how do you know this stuff?”
“Internet.”
“Fair enough.”
As they walked out of the mess hall Steph began to read the next clue. “Cat’s eye, swirl and ribbon are patterns I can be, but dropping them on the ground can cause something silly - Isaiah 66:15. What do you think?”
While flipping through their bible Peter responded, “Well I think those are all marble patterns and people tripping on marbles is a common gag.”
“Okay that makes sense. What about the scripture?”
Peter began to read. “For behold, the Lord will come with fire, and with his chariots like a whirlwind, to render his anger with fury, and his rebuke with flames of fire.” He looked up from the book and to Steph. “My best guess right now is one of the fire pits.”
The two of them began searching around the fire pits when Peter noticed a small drawstring bag in one of the pits.
Peter turned to face where Steph was looking. “Hey Steph! I think I found something!”
As Steph came over to where Peter was he opened the bag to find a bunch of marbles. He took one and put it in his pocket while Steph read the next clue.
“Give me to a man and he’ll eat for a day, and many disciples caught me before Jesus came their way - Matthew 7:26.” She gave a quick deadpan look to Peter. “Okay even I can figure out they're talking about fish.”
“Yeah they weren’t too creative with this one.” Peter found the passage and read, “And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon the sand.”
“So the shore then? That’s the only place here with lots of sand.”
As the two of them made it to the shore where the docks were they found a fake plywood boat sitting on the edge of the water with “John 21:6” painted on the side.
“Hey Pete, do you think…”
“Working on it.” He found what he was looking for and began to read. “And he said unto them, Cast the net on the right side of the ship, and ye shall find. They cast therefore, and now they were not able to draw it for the multitude of fishes.”
The two of them looked at each other and headed towards the right side of this fake boat and noticed a jar halfway buried in the wet sand. Peter pulled it out and they both saw it was full of laminated paper fish. Peter unscrewed the jar, took a fish, put the lid back on and put the jar back in the sand. With that Steph began reading the last clue on the list.
“Fill me with oil through faith and good deeds, be sure to follow the correct five womens leads - John 5:2.” Steph furrowed her brows a bit. “Okay this one is a bit trickier, but I think Grace told me about a story about five wise women and five foolish women or something like that, but I forget what happened in it. What’s the passage about this time?”
“Ooh this one’s kinda interesting it reads, ‘Now there is at Jerusalem by the sheep a pool, which is called in the Hebrew tongue Bethesda, having five porches.’ That has to be the nurses cabin.”
“I’m confused. How did you reach that conclusion?”
“A lot of the places here have scripture nick-names. Like the obstacle course is called the walls of Jericho or the mess hall being called the Cenacle. I only get half of the references.”
“Huh, I never noticed. But I’ll take your word for it. Let’s see if we can find anything noteworthy there.”
As they walked over to the nurses cabin Steph noticed two things. First was the sign above the doorway read “Pool of Bethesda/Nurses office” so Peter was right about the weird names. Second was the two kids walking out with a toy lamp that kinda looked like the one from Aladdin. That’s when Steph remembered that the story Grace told her was about five women having enough oil for their lamps and the other five not having enough. It was a metaphor for having faith or something like that she couldn’t quite remember.
Steph whispered to Peter, “I’m pretty sure that the thing we need to find is a lamp.”
Peter whispered back, “Okay let’s see what we can find.”
As they walked in they found a woman at a desk writing in a notebook. Without looking up she said, “Don’t break anything while you’re looking around, okay?”
Peter gave a quick, “You got it Martha.”
While looking around Steph quietly asked Peter, “How do you know her? I thought you didn’t need to come here.”
“I tried to convince her that I needed my candy for medical reasons. But by the time I talked to her about it the guy who confiscated it threw it away.”
“Ah, got it.”
After a minute or two of looking around Steph looked under one of the beds and found a clear plastic tote bin with toy oil lamps.
Steph grabbed one and showed it to Peter. “Found them.”
“Great, let’s get the last clue from the Jerrys.”
The two of them quickly headed back to where they started, where Jerry was sitting at a table while Jeri handed out lists to another group of kids.
Jerry looked at the two of them. “So did you find the items on your list?”
Peter put the items on the table while Steph handed Jerry the list. He looked at the list and the items on the table. At first he looked annoyed but after checking a notebook beside him on the table he gave a small “Huh,” before he then gave them another piece of paper. “Here you go, this will lead you to the last clue.”
Peter and Steph walked away to read the note as another pair of kids were waiting to get the next clue. Steph opened the note and was confused and a little frustrated. It read, “Up high I lay, I’m made out of clay, right now I rest tall at,” but the rest was covered in a purple blob. And at the bottom was a note that read, “Sorry I got hit with a slushy while writing this - Larry I mean Joshua.”
“Pete, I can’t tell if it’s supposed to be like this or not.”
Peter took the note and almost instantly his eyes lit up like he had a light bulb appear above his head. “Steph this is a reference to the Veggietales episode about the story of Joshua and the city of Jericho!”
“Really?”
“Yeah because it’s for kids and they can’t show real bows and arrows, the guards end up throwing slushies at everyone instead.”
Steph remembered Peter mentioning that sometimes his parents would play Veggietales on Sunday after his family went to church. “Huh, I guess that info came in handy. And didn’t you say the obstacle course was called the walls of Jericho?”
“Let’s go.”
The two of them ran over to the obstacle course where they saw Simon who was making sure people were safe and a few other groups who were already tackling it.
Peter started stretching a bit before turning to Steph. “Don’t worry, I’ll help you keep up if needed. Just follow my lead.”
“Because I’m a girl and I can’t carry stuff on my own?”
Peter internally panicked for a bit before realizing Steph was just repeating the same joke from when they first showed up at camp. So he responded, “Good one.”
With that the two of them started tackling the first obstacle which was just a long balance beam that turned at some points. After that was just some monkey bars, while it had been a while since Steph played with them she was able to cross with minimal pain in her hands. Next was a rock climbing wall that was designed for you to go sideways instead of up. While Peter waited a bit for Steph to finish, she wondered if Peter would be better off just blazing through this. But she remembered that he didn’t want to raise suspicion so waiting for her wasn’t a bad idea. Besides they didn’t care about winning so who cares if he didn’t beat this thing in record time.
After that was a plain six foot wall the two of them had to climb over together. “Right.” Peter said to Steph and himself. “This thing was designed to be challenged as a group. I’ll go first, help pull you up, jump down, then help you down. Okay?”
“Sounds good.”
With that Peter was able to reach up and easily pull himself on top of the wall. He bent down and took Steph’s extended hand and helped her up with little effort, even if Steph was a little unprepared for the sudden pull. Once she got up on the wall she remarked, “Thanks, nearly took my arm off though.”
Peter looked scared for a moment, but after looking at Steph’s light hearted expression he asked, “That was a joke, right?”
Steph shook her head a little as she teased, “You take things way to literally Spankoffski.”
After Peter jumped down and helped Steph down, the two of them saw the last part was climbing a rope to the top of a platform. Luckily this rope had knots tied into it so you had someplace to hold your feet. After waiting for Marry and Noah to finish up Peter didn’t waste any time climbing the rope.
After a moment Steph said with a slightly loud voice, “Should I come up there?”
Peter shouted back, “I don’t think you need to.” He held up a small brown orb of some kind. “I think we just need to get this back to the Jerrys. But if you want to come up here, be my guest.”
“I think I’m good.”
After Peter climbed down he handed the orb to Steph so she could get a look at it. As the two of them started heading back Steph noticed that between the seam where the two semi spheres were glued together crosses painted on it was a Bible verse etched into the clay before it was baked.
“Hey Pete, look at this.”
Peter looked at the verse and pulled out the bible “Okay Psalm 2:9. ‘Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.’”
After hearing that Steph quickly smashed the clay orb on the ground breaking it. Steph noticed Peter staring at her in disbelief so she exclaimed, “Oh come that one was pretty obvious!”
But then the two of them saw something white in the pieces of clay, a folded up piece of paper, Steph picked it up and read what was written on it. “Go to Jerry and give him the fill in the blank answer. ‘Neither do men light a _ _ _ _ _ _ and put it under a bushel.’”
“I’m guessing that the answer is either a lamp or a candle. Let me check something.”
With that Peter turned to the topical guide in the back and began looking. Eventually he found what he was looking for. “Yep, the answer is candle.”
“How’d you figure that one out?”
“General rule of thumb for books, if you want to find something, check the back. It usually tells you where certain words or names are. Now let’s get this over with.”
The two of them made it back to Jerry and Steph put the piece of paper on the table. “The answer is candle.”
Jerry took the paper, looked at it, and wrote down the time from one of the stopwatches on a clipboard. “All right, head back to the amphitheater and wait.”
They headed back and took seats together in the back. Knowing they had a lot of time to kill while waiting for everyone to finish Peter ended up telling Steph, or trying to, the plot of Hollow Knight. Because in his mind if it was going to be a while he might as well bring out the big guns. But not too big, he would leave Kingdom Hearts to Richie. Steph, trying to make sense of all the new information thought out loud, “So the Dracula inspired guy is like a ringmaster of nightmares, but he doesn't have anything to do with the main plot of defeating the dream moth?”
“Right. Master Grimm and the Grimm Troupe was DLC so it’s an optional side story to get some cool stuff and some tricky but fun boss fights. Oh, by the way you might like the music from this game. Especially the boss music for the two Grimm fights, it’s like a combination of gothic church organ and metal rock and roll.”
“That does sound kinda interesting. But what about-”
At that they were interrupted by Jerry stepping onto the stage and announcing, “All right everyone Girl Jeri and I have finished counting up everybody’s times and are here to announce the winners of this year’s trial of faith!”
Peter and Steph sat and watched and to no one’s surprise, the two of them didn’t win. After the winners got their new study journals they were all told to enjoy the rest of the day. So Steph and Peter decided to go out on the lake one last time. They ended up talking about Hollow Knight again, other games that Peter and his friends like, and games that Steph has played. Which were mobile games and Mario Kart, but still.
As they headed back to the docks to head back for dinner Peter continued their conversation. “So you’ve never played anything besides Mario Kart?”
“Nope. Dad thinks video games are a waste of money so I’ve only played with friends at sleepovers.”
“Tell you what, tomorrow after I get home from camp I’m heading over to Richie’s place for a game night. You should come too if you want.”
“Maybe I don’t know if dad will let me hang out with friends right after getting back.”
“Just tell him you’re going to be with friends you met at camp.”
“That’s not a bad idea. I’ll think about it.”
After dinner and sometime around a campfire Steph and Peter went to their cabins ready to go to bed and be done with this stupid camp.
Notes:
I have more solid ideas for the next chapter so hopefully it won't take a month but we'll see.
Chapter 10: Home Sweet Home
Summary:
Steph and Peter finally leave camp, head home, talk with friends and make some plans for the night.
Notes:
Moving on from camp shenanigans to home shenanigans for a bit before starting school shenanigans. Lately I've been feeling like this fic might be better if I had more plot going on, but then I remembered I'm writing this for me and I like chill character interactions and light hearted shenanigans (why can't I come up with a better word). So yeah, plot stuff will happen later but for now let's just enjoy my version of Steph and the Nerds with a twist.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
After a breakfast of mostly leftovers so the camp wouldn’t have to toss more away than it needed, Steph and Peter sat in the back of the amphitheater to sit through one more camp lecture before they could go home. It was the same thing as always. Don't do sex, God loves you but also don’t make him mad and send you to Hell, and this stuff is awesome bull shit they were used to by now just with some goodbyes thrown in.
Peter turned to Steph and whispered, “What’s the first thing you’re going to do when you get home?”
Steph whispered back, “Probably scroll through social media for an hour or two then listen to Stacy talk about all the stuff our friends got up to while I was here. But it’s going to be nothing more than some party mishaps and, knowing her, probably some story involving a guy from a band at the Honey Festival she met and tried to ask out. What about you?”
“Head straight to Richie’s place so he, Ruth and I can play games, watch movies, and whatever else. By the way, do you still want to come over for Mario Kart?”
“If my friends don’t have anything planned, then sure.”
“Awesome, just be warned it can get pretty cut throat between us.”
“After Max broke a controller when he got last place due to those bullet things, I think I can handle you guys.”
- - - -
As Steph got in the back of her dad’s Cadillac Fleetwood stretch she didn’t see her dad there, just Miss Tesburger at the wheel. Before driving the two of them home Miss Tesburger turned around to talk to Steph. “Your father is at a town council lunch and meeting right now and won’t be done until four.”
Steph just gave a quick “Okay, cool.” before going back to her phone. While waiting to get picked up she was able to figure out the big world wide stories she’d missed. Some flooding in Florida, some rumor about President Goodman that wasn’t true, some rumor about a popstar that was true, some guy on TikTok got arrested for driving drunk and crashing, and an author who just got a divorce because he cheated was already marrying that other woman.
Now she was figuring out if there was any local news worth knowing about. Looking at the weekend of the Honey Festival, she got a few things. This year’s winner was a girl named Chloe Patterson. But there were also these two other contestants Zoey and Amber who got into a fight backstage. It ended when Zoey punched Amber in the face, leading to displaced fingers and a broken nose respectively. Aside from some reviews on the bands that played, that was it.
After skimming through stories about boring local politics and Peanut the pocket squirrel updates they were back in town and pulling up to her home. Steph decided to text Stacy as she was the one who always knew the most gossip in their social circle. As the car pulled into the garage she sent a quick “I’m back” text before grabbing her stuff and heading inside.
She got to her room which was only somewhat neat because she had been gone for over a month and her dad hired cleaning ladies. But that just meant it was vacuumed and dusted, her closet and dresser were an unorganized mess. On her wall were a few posters of her favorite album covers and a cork board she got for Christmas one year which she had covered in photos from her polaroid phase from a year ago. As Steph tossed her stuff on her bed her phone started ringing, she didn’t need to look to know who it was.
Steph answered but she could barely get in a hello before Stacy practically shouted, “Oh my God! Steph, I can’t believe you’re finally back!”
Steph gave a slight smile. While her friendship with Stacy was never that close and she could be a bit too energetic sometimes, especially at parties, Steph did kind of miss her old friend. “Glad to be back.”
“I wished you could have been here for the Honey Festival. You’re not going to believe what happened!”
“Let me guess, you found a cute boy?”
“How did you know?!”
“Because I’ve known you for so long.”
“Okay, but let me tell you the whole thing!”
Knowing this would take a while, Steph decided to put Stacy on speaker phone so she could listen while unpacking her stuff. She was beginning to realize that a few of her friends have a tendency to ramble.
“So it started when me and Brenda were trying to find something to eat…”
- - - -
Just a few minutes after Steph had left Peter spotted his brother’s car pull into the pick up/drop off loop. Although he remembered being told that his mom would pick him up from camp, it wasn’t that uncommon for his family to shuffle around who would get him to and from places among themselves. He could see Ted frantically waving to Peter to get in the car and as he did Peter noticed Ted looking a little stressed. As soon as Peter closed the car door Ted hit the gas and started driving out of there before Peter could even get his seat belt on.
“Jesus Ted are you okay? At least wait for me to buckle up.”
“Well sorry if I want to get the hell out of this creepy place as soon as possible! I swear mom owes me big time for this.”
“Yeah, why isn’t she here?”
“Apparently there was a shipment delay at the store and they finally got their inventory in today so dad needed her help.”
“Oh, okay.”
Their mother used to be a stay at home mom, but ever since Peter started high school she started spending most of her time at their dad’s shoe store. She would help with inventory and bookkeeping while he stayed on the floor of the store to help customers and drive up sales. At this point she was the assistant manager at the family shoe store.
After driving for a bit they passed under the welcome sign and Ted seemed to calm down and turned towards Peter. “So tell me were you able to find some honeys to admire or what.”
Peter rolled his eyes. “It’s complicated.”
“That isn’t a no. So who is she?”
“Ted, it's not like that at all. I just met someone who didn’t want to be here either so we bonded over that.”
“Come on, who is she?”
Peter knew this day would come if he ever showed any interest in a girl. So he decided to just tell Ted what he wanted to hear and hope Steph would forgive him.
“Her name is Steph and I don’t think of her that way, we’re just friends.”
“Oh don’t you worry once I teach you all the lessons I learned over the years you and Beth will-”
Peter jumped in to correct Ted. “Her name is Steph.”
Ted just kept on going. “Whatever. And you were so fucking worried about going here, which I get. But think about it this way, if you didn’t come here, you two wouldn't have met and gotten to know each other.”
“Technically we met in school as kids, probably in first grade.”
“You know what I meant.”
Peter turned to look out the window to watch the trees zooming by, not wanting to continue this conversation. As the forest gave way to grass and the dirt road became paved Ted spoke up again. “In all seriousness nothing bad happened at camp, right?”
Peter turned back to face Ted, gave a quick “Yeah it was fine.” before turning back to the window. While Peter didn’t like lying to his brother, after all this time he’d gotten used to all the little white lies that he would need for the rest of his life. And in some ways he wasn’t lying when he said things were fine. Yes Steph knew Richie’s, Ruth’s and his secret now but she would keep it a secret too.
Ted continued, “Good. After the scary stories and what not, my time there fucking sucked. But I’m glad that somehow you survived that hell hole. And you got yourself a sweet piece of camp candy to enjoy later.”
Peter pinch the bridge of his nose as Ted made that face he makes whenever he teased people about their crushes or people they found attractive.
Peter muttered a quick but audible “Ted please just drop it.”
To this Ted responded with a bold, “Never in a zillion years dorkus!” like he was Marv from Home Alone 2. Thankfully for Peter's sanity they had finally reached their parents home where Ruth was sitting on the curb with her bike.
Peter quickly rolled down the window to talk with her as Ted parked the Studebaker on the driveway. “Hey Ruth, I hope I didn't make you wait too long.”
As soon as Ted turned off the engine Peter hopped out and walked over to Ruth. She shrugged and responded, “Don’t worry about it. I was only here for ten minutes, and besides I had my phone with me. Speaking of which.” Ruth reached into her backpack and pulled out Peter's cell phone and gave it to him. “I know Richie was supposed to be the one who would run errands there and back but his parents made him help with yard work this morning or something so I took care of it.”
Peter slipped the phone in his back pocket. “It's fine. As long as it's done, I don't care who did it.”
From the Studebaker Ted called out to Peter, “Hey dorkus! Can you grab your stuff out of my car so I can go back to my place?”
As Peter walked over and grabbed his duffle bag out of the back seat he turned to Ruth, “Do you want to come inside while I unpack? It shouldn’t take that long.” Ruth nodded and Peter continued. “Just put your bike in the garage.”
As soon as Peter closed the car door Ted gave a quick “See ya.” and drove off. Peter then opened the garage for him and Ruth to head inside. As Ruth leaned her bike on the wall next to Peter’s bike and Peter opened the door to the house, Ruth gave Peter a mischievous smile and asked, “So, did you and Steph have some fun or what?”
Peter gave a slightly annoyed sigh. “No. First, we're just friends like how I’m friends with Richie and you. Second, we got in trouble for not being in our cabins that night so we made sure to be on our best behavior. And third, I’m pretty sure Jerry jr. would have tried to scare the shit out of us if we did.”
“Oh come on, I’m sure he would make exceptions for us.”
“I don’t think so and I don’t want to test it.”
As they made their way to Peter’s room Ruth continued. “Look, all I’m saying is if I had to spend six weeks with a hot boy or girl who I could be completely honest with, I’d be swinging for the fences if you know what I mean.”
“Well until your anxiety kicks in.”
Ruth sighed, “Yeah, you’re right.”
They walked into Peter’s room which had many Pokémon, Spider-Man, and science posters on the wall. There was a desk kept clean with nothing but a lamp and a writing supplies cup. And his book shelf had a mixture of classic sci-fi novels, comic books, and binders of Pokémon cards. As Peter tossed his bag onto his bed he told Ruth to wait outside while he changed. A few moments later Peter walked out in his signature look, deciding to go with a green and black plaid bowtie and suspenders.
Just then Ruth got a phone call from Richie which she answered and put on speaker. “Hey Richie, how ya doing?”
“Fine, I just finished up the yard work. Is Pete back yet?”
Peter answered, “Yep, I’m here.”
Richie responded, “Sweet, Oh, by the way there’s going to be a change of plans tonight.”
Ruth and Peter looked at each other before Ruth asked, “What do you mean?”
“Well turns out my parents wanted to do yard work because they’re planning to have their friends over for a party. Something about one of mom’s PTA friend’s kid going off to college and them needing a good location so mom volunteered our house and backyard. So, no video game night here. But don’t worry I’m ninety nine percent sure that my uncle will let us hang at his place. I just gotta make sure it’s cool for tonight.”
“All right, just let us know the time if we get the thumbs up.” With that Ruth hung up. “So what do you wanna do while we wait?”
Peter shrugged. “I don’t know. Did anything interesting happen at the Honey Festival?”
“Oh! During the pageant there was a fight backstage that ended in an ambulance!”
“Wait, What?”
“Yeah so this is what I heard…”
- - - -
By the time Steph had unpacked and changed out of that ridiculous shirt Stacy was still going.
“I’m telling you, Brad will not leave me alone. You talk to one cute drummer boy and suddenly he goes right back to begging for another date.”
“That guy can not take a hint.”
“I know right! Anyway, how was camp? You weren't forced to read the Bible all day, were you?”
“No, just for an hour each day and two hours on Sunday. Lucky Pete and I were able to get out of that fairly easily.”
“Who’s Pete? Is he cute?”
“No it’s nothing like that, he's just a guy who didn’t want to be there either.”
“Wait, is he that one guy with the ponytail from Sycamore?”
“No that’s Pat, I’m talking about Peter Spankoffski.”
Stacy was silent for a bit before Steph continued. “The kid from our class who wears suspenders and a bowtie.”
“That kid?! Steph I know he’s rich but money isn’t everything, looks are.”
“Well I don’t see him like that so it doesn't matter.”
From the other end Steph heard a man’s voice shouting in the background. Stacy quickly stated, “Got to go. I’ve been putting off doing the dishes, but now my dad is making me do it. See ya.” With that Stacy hung up.
After a few minutes of scrolling on Twitter Steph got another call, this time from Peter.
Steph answered, “What’s up Spankoffski?”
“Hey Steph, settling back in okay?”
“Yeah, I finished unpacking a while ago. Right now I’m just scrolling. You?”
“I’m good too. By the way there will be a slight change of plans for game night. Instead of Richie’s place it’ll be at his uncle’s place instead. I’ll text you the address in a little bit.”
“Thanks, I’ll let you know if my dad doesn’t let me go out tonight.”
“Oh you haven’t talked to him about it yet?”
“He’s been at a big meeting all day.”
“We’ll just let me know if you’re coming or on Steph.”
“Thanks Pete. Normally I’d just sneak out, but I get the feeling that he’s going to be extra attentive of me tonight now that I’m back. Or he might not be, who knows.”
“Well I’ll talk to-”
Steph suddenly heard a bit of a struggle on the other end and then what sounded like Ruth saying, “Wait are you still talking with Stephanie Lauter? Did you invite her to game night? Is she coming? Can I talk to her?”
This was quickly followed by more struggling, then what sounded like Peter saying, “Jesus Christ Ruth! Calm down!” So that was definitely Ruth on the other end with Peter. Peter quickly finished the conversation much closer to the receiver with, “We’ll talk later Steph, bye.” and then he hung up.
After a little bit Steph got a call from her dad, Steph sighed in frustration and answered. “Hi dad.”
Solomon responded in his usual deadpan tone. “I take it that you've made it home?”
“Yes I did.”
“Good. I will be home around four this afternoon. I expect to hear that you stayed out of trouble for once at camp.”
“I didn't get pregnant if that's what you're worried about.”
Steph could hear the sarcasm from Solomon as he said, “Funny Stephanie.” Then without skipping a beat he was back to monotone venom. “When I get back I want to hear all about it, is that understood?
Steph sighed, “Yes it is.”
“Good.” With that Solomon hung up without so much as a goodbye.
Steph was used to this from her dad at this point, still didn't make it hurt any less. She needed a distraction, and luckily she got a text from Brenda. Steph shrugged. “Well that works for me.”
- - - -
After texting with her friends for a couple hours Solomon finally made it home. Knowing that he would come looking for her Steph decided to head downstairs to meet him. When Steph reached the bottom of the stairs she saw her dad in the kitchen pouring himself a drink.
As he put the cork back on the bottle he turned to face Steph. “Welcome back Stephanie. I expect you’ve already unpacked everything?”
“Yes I did.”
“Good. Now tell me, how did it go at camp?”
“It was fine. Went on a few hikes, did a lot of canoeing and made a friend or two.”
“And if I were to ask Jerry and Jeri about you they wouldn’t have anything to say?”
“The only thing I can think of is one night near the start when me and someone else decided to sleep under the stars instead of in our bunks.”
Solomon put his drink down and gave Steph a judging look so Steph continued. “Don’t worry we didn’t do anything else against the rules, we just enjoyed nature.”
Solomon started walking towards his office. “Well if that is all, then I suppose that’s acceptable. Now if you’ll excuse me I still have some emails to send so please leave me alone for the rest of the day.”
“By the way I got an invite from-”
Solomon interrupted, “Is it another stupid party with your friends?”
“No, it's from someone I got to know at camp.”
“Then I guess that’s fine. Try to stick to your curfew.”
And with that Solomon walked into his office and shut the door. So Steph walked back up to her and pulled out her phone to text Peter.
August 22nd 12:17 pm
The address is 260 4th St, Apt C119
Thanks
4:09 pm
Good news I can make it
Awesome! We’re heading over at 6.
By the way, we're ordering pizza. Got any preferences or allergies?
No allergies and im good with anything that dosent have bell peppers
Alright. See you in a couple hours.
Seeya
Notes:
Next up: Mario Kart, pizza and most likely a lot of cursing. By the way classes started up again last week and one of those classes for me is creative writing. So hopefully that'll help me become a better writer, but that means that for now most of my writing time will go to that. So expect less frequent updates, then again I've never had a consistent schedule so it wont be that much of a change.
Chapter 11: Banter and Blue Shells
Summary:
Steph, Pete, Ruth and Richie hang out at Paul's place. There's pizza, a movie, a Mario Kart tournament, a little bit of cursing and some catharsis for Richie.
Notes:
Looks like I had a creative kick and the time to get the next chapter out sooner then I thought. Originally I thought this would by more about Steph, but then it turned into being more about Richie accepting this new normal and being friendlier to Steph. I hope it turned out good.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
After getting in her car Steph pulled up the address Peter had given her and hoped that he wouldn't mind if she was a little bit late. The parties and get-togethers she was used to didn't really start until ten or so minutes after the stated start time. But a game night with three nerds was uncharted territory, maybe it would be rude to show up late or maybe they always started early, Steph didn't know. Lucky in Hatchetfield everything was less than thirty minutes away so she was able to get there at 6:03. She found a parking spot, made her way to the front door and rang the doorbell.
After a bit Richie opened the door. “Huh, so you decided to come over.”
“Well I had nothing better to do.”
Richie stepped aside to let Steph in. The apartment was very bland, Steph couldn’t tell if the people living here were going for a minimalist modern look or just hadn't bothered to decorate. The walls were white with no pictures on them and walking into the living room it looked like a stock image. A brown three cushion couch, a tan recliner chair, a side table with a lamp between the couch and the chair, a wooden coffee table in front of the couch, a TV on a stand with shelves to hold a cable box, a DVD player and some DVDs, and in the back corner a bookshelf with a few books a bit of dust.
As Richie sat on the couch between Peter and Ruth, Steph asked him, “Who designed this apartment, a robot?”
“My uncle Paul is a very practical guy. He doesn't like having clutter to just look nice. He keeps all his fun stuff as he calls it in his room.”
Ruth interrupted, “He has a bunch of shark stuff including that shark plush from IKEA.”
Steph looked around but it seemed like there were only the four of them. “Where is he anyway?”
Practically on que Steph heard someone walking out of a room down the hallway and asked, “Hey Richie did the doorbell ring? I thought Ruth and Peter were here already? Or was the pizza guy on time for once?”
Steph then saw presumably Paul enter the living room. He looked a bit like Richie, if he was in his thirties and combed his hair. He was dressed in khaki pants, a casual light blue and light green button up shirt and gray tennis shoes. He looked at Steph with a confused look on his face, so Peter spoke up to answer the questions he knew Paul was asking.
“Paul, this is Steph. We got to know each other at camp so I invited her over for game night. I hope you don’t mind.”
Paul answered. “As long as she follows the rules.”
Steph, not knowing how strict this guy was, approached Paul, “Don’t worry I will.” She reached out her hand for a hand shake. “Nice to meet you Mr?”
Paul accepted the hand shake somewhat hesitantly, like he wasn’t expecting it. “Uh, Mr. Matthews. But please, just call me Paul. Nice to meet you too Steph.”
Steph finished the hand shake and relaxed a little. It was clear this Paul guy was pretty chill.
Paul turned to face everyone else on the couch and started listing off what he needed to say. “Remember there’s money for the pizza guy on the table next to the door, don’t forget to tip, Try to avoid leaving half finished slices because I plan on saving leftovers, soda and drinks are in and next to the fridge, cups are in the top cupboard to the right of the sink, try not to be too loud the walls here are only dampen so much and try to be done by eleven. Okay?”
Richie gave a thumbs up. “You got it.”
Paul gave a thumbs up back. “Okay. I’ll be in my room if you need anything.”
With that Paul walked back down the hallway. Steph turned to the three of them on the couch, walked over to the recliner and sat down.
“So what’s a get together for you guys like?”
Ruth was quick to answer. “Well like Pete said, we play a lot of video games like Mario Kart. But we also play Smash Brothers Ultament and Mario Party. If we’re having dinner we start with a movie ‘cause we can eat and watch at the same time.”
Peter then grabbed a bag from behind the couch and pulled out a laptop. “So what were you guys thinking? Because I just added Clue to this thing and I wanted to watch it. Are you guys good with that?”
Richie’s eyes lit up and a smile appeared on his face. “I haven’t seen Clue in ages! Yeah, let’s watch that.”
Ruth nodded in agreement. “Fine by me. Steph?”
Steph shrugged. “Sure. I’ve never seen it before, but I’m down to try it.”
Peter stared at Steph with a confused look. “Wait, you’ve never seen Clue?”
“Nope.”
“But you quoted it that night at camp.”
“I did?”
Richie got an excited look on his face “Okay we are definitely watching Clue. By the way Pete, what did she quote?”
At this point Peter was setting up the laptop and the TV for the movie. “I’ll point it out when we come to it.”
Richie stood up. “Well I’m going to grab some plates and napkins. Does anyone want me to grab them a drink?”
After Peter asked for a Diet Coke, Ruth asked for a Sprite and Steph asked for a normal Coke Richie disappeared into the kitchen. At that moment the doorbell rang causing Ruth to jump up from the couch.
“I’ll get it!” and with that Ruth walked out of the living room towards the front door.
Steph turned towards Peter. “Hey Pete, thanks again for inviting me. I hope I’m not intruding on your guys' fun.”
“Of course not. Richie will snark, but deep down he’s been wanting to make a new friend. He can only explain the plot of InuYasha or Naruto to Ruth and I so many times. And Ruth is admittedly a little desperate to meet and befriend someone new. I mean, why do you think she was so eager to get the pizza?”
Richie walked back into the living room with paper plates in his hand, a roll of paper towels under his arm and some soda cans in the pockets of his jacket. “One time I heard her try to talk and maybe flirt with a telemarketer.”
Ruth also walked back into the living room holding three boxes of pizza. “Well I’ll have you know the delivery guy didn’t slam the door in my face this time.”
Peter turned towards Ruth. “But it did sound like he just said goodbye and left after you asked him if he delivered around here often.”
“Like I said I didn’t get a door in my face, so I’ll take this as a win.” Ruth started putting the boxes down on the coffee table. “We got one pepperoni, one chief's special which is pepperoni, sausage, olives and mushrooms, and one half cheese half Hawaiian. Still can’t believe your uncle likes Hawaiian pizza.”
Richie sat down after setting the stuff he brought on the coffee table. “He mostly just does it to make sure Ted doesn't steal it from the breakroom fridge.”
Peter sighed. “Yeah, that doesn’t surprise me.” He turned towards Steph. “So you ready to watch Clue?” Steph gave a thumbs up as she took a sip from her Coke. “Great, just a heads up the rest of us are going to be talking the whole time.”
Steph put her can back down as she reached for a plate and a slice of pepperoni. “The rest of my friends also talk during movies, so this is what I’m used to.”
And with that Peter hit play and sat down on the side of the couch closest to Steph.
- - - -
“Now if you’ll excuse me. I’m going to go home and sleep with my wife.”
Steph sat up a little as the credits started. “Wait! He wasn’t actually gay?”
Ruth turned towards Steph. “I know right! I still think the first ending should have been the real one.”
Peter sat up and started disconnecting the laptop. “We regardless, what did you think Steph?”
“Not bad. I liked that it was more of a comedy than a mystery. Also how on earth did we do a perfect ‘To make a long story short. Too late.’ that night?”
“Honestly I have know idea. I didn’t even realize what we did until later that night.” He put the laptop into his bag and used a remote to change the input on the TV. “Now who’s ready for a Mario Kart tournament?”
Steph stood up to throw her stuff away. “Ready as I’ll ever be.” But after she walked into the kitchen and put her plate and empty can in the trash she realized something. “Hey guys, have you seen my phone?” As she walked back into the living room she could see the others all looking at each other.
Then Peter spoke. “No. Did you have it when you walked in?”
“Yes then I sat down and-” Steph immediately stopped talking and started checking the chair she was sitting in the whole night. And there wedged in the side was her phone. “Found it. Sorry for-” But as she turned it on she saw that it only had eleven percent left. “-and it’s already on its last legs, great.”
Richie raised an eyebrow. “Does your phone drain quickly or something? It looks too new to have a bad battery.”
“Yeah, nearly every phone I’ve owned drains in a few hours. Sometimes I try to delete old apps or back up my pictures when it gets bad, but it never really fixes it.”
“Can I take a look? Maybe I can find what’s eating the power.”
“Knock yourself out.”
Steph gave Richie her phone and then turned to Peter. “So how do you guys do this?”
“Normally we set up VS mode on 150cc with normal items. Then depending on how long we want to go we’ll either do the normal four tracks in a cup all the way to the max of forty eight.”
“Huh, I think that’s what the football team does whenever they start playing.”
“Perfect! So how many tracks do you guys want to do?”
Ruth thought for a minute before saying, “Ya know what? Let’s do all forty eight! Give Steph a trial by fire so to speak.”
Peter turned back to Steph. “Are you okay with that?”
Steph cracked her knuckles. “Bring it on nerds.”
Peter smiled and turned to Ruth and Richie. “Well you heard her, let’s do this. Richie you done?”
Richie finally looked up from Steph’s phone. “Huh? Oh yeah, um, Steph I found something you might want to see.”
Steph got up and sat next to Richie who had her settings pulled up in the apps section. “See I started by sorting your apps by how much storage it took up and I found a suspicious looking app.”
He pointed to an app called Communication Manager with a generic looking gray file icon. Steph explained, “Oh yeah I’ve noticed that being one of the bigger ones but it came with the phone so not much you can do.”
“Um, Steph, it’s not a normal default app on iPhones.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Look, whenever you got a new phone did you set it up yourself?”
“Uh, no. My dad always-”
Steph stopped and thought for a bit before continuing. “Are you suggesting that my dad has been tampering with my phones?”
Peter, who had pulled out his own phone and started searching for something, joined the conversation. “Steph, I think your dad might have bugged your phone. According to this, some of the signs of a bugged phone are a short battery life and large apps with generic but important sounding names.”
Richie gave Steph her phone back. “Come by my place tomorrow afternoon and I can plug it into my computer at home to see what we are dealing with. In the meantime don’t call or text us about you know what.”
“Definitely, thanks.”
After a bit Ruth spoke up. “So are we still playing Mario Kart or do we need a minute?”
Steph quickly answered. “Yep I need a distraction right now, let’s start.”
After getting all their karts set up Peter selected Mario Circuit and began the race. After getting used to the speed and feel of her kart she ended up keeping pace with the rest of them. Then a lucky red shell allowed her to get third place, much to Richie’s frustration in fifth place.
“Bullshit! You only won because of items.”
“Please now that I’ve learned what I’m doing, I can place ahead of you again.”
“Yeah if you can do that again I’ll… do something.”
“Okay, it’s on.”
One race on Water Park and a well placed banana from Peter later, Steph ended up in third again while Richie got in fourth.
“Fuck you! Fuck you! And you know what Fuck Ruth too!”
Ruth got a mischievous look in her eyes. “Well you know I’m always down to try-”
Richie cut her off “Shut the fuck up Ruth!”
After that exchange Steph turned towards Richie. “Well luckily for you I came up with something you can do. But first, truth or dare?”
Richie stared daggers at Steph before muttering “Truth.”
“Besides people learning about you know what, what is your biggest fear?”
Richie leaned back and rubbed the back of his neck for a sec before answering. “Probably getting stranded in the open water and drowning. My dad took me fishing one time when I was eight and barely knew how to swim, during which I fell out of the boat. I was probably only in the water for a few seconds, but it still messed me up. I’m a much better swimmer now but I still stick to pools or other places where I can see or feel the bottom.”
“That is completely understandable.” As Peter started the next race Steph continued. “Hey if you can place ahead of me you can ask me a question or something.”
“You know I will eventually!”
And sure enough after finishing on Sweet Sweet Canyon Richie got first, Ruth got second, Peter got third and Steph got fourth.
“Yes! I told you I could do it! Now Steph, have you or the other cool kids said anything bad about me behind my back?”
Steph thought for a moment before answering. “The first thing that comes to mind is one time we were all at Denny’s after a game and Max joked that you get so smelly in the mascot suit because you must have been raised by skunks.”
“Yeah, I’m not too surprised by that. But it’s not my fault I have overactive sweat glands.”
“Okay moving on. Do you want to keep this up?”
Ruth interjected with an idea. “How about the highest placing person asks the lowest placing person a question instead? Because I want a piece of the action.”
Peter answered. “Fine by me. Richie? Steph?”
The two of them nodded in agreement.
“Alright, let's start the next one.”
Thanks to a blue shell Ruth got First and got to ask Steph a question. “So who was your first crush?”
“At first I thought it was the guy who played Justin in Wizards of Waverly Place.”
“Okay I can see that.”
“But now I realize it was probably Belle from Beauty and the Beast.”
“Wait! You’re bi too?!”
“Pan actually. But good to know we’re in adjacent boats so to speak.”
Peter piped in. “Adjacent boats, never heard that one before.”
Steph shrugged. “It’s just something I came up with years ago. Anyway, let's start the next one.”
After the race it was Peter’s turn to answer a question from Richie.
“So Pete, you got any interesting stories from camp?”
“Let me think. I didn’t see it happen but apparently a bunch of kids got it in their heads to try and climb the flagpole because the ropes course was too easy. This resulted in one of the kids, this boy named Mike, getting stuck up there and the Jerrys needing to grab a ladder to get them down.”
Richie raised an eyebrow. “I get being afraid of heights is a thing, but I feel like it would be harder to cling to the top than to slide down.”
“Remember it’s about controlling the descent so you don’t just fall the whole way down. Not everyone has a training course in the woods they can go to whenever they feel like it.”
“You’re right, you’re right.”
Then for the rest of the night the four of them continued to play and ask each other questions. Ruth told Steph that her first crush was Jessica Rabbit. Steph told Peter her favorite Pokémon was Eevee. Peter told Richie he owns nine sets of matching bowties and suspenders at this point. Richie told Steph his favorite music artist was Hiroyuki Sawano. After a lot of time racing and asking questions they finished the final race with Richie in first, Peter in second, Ruth in third and Steph in fourth. Which happened to be the same as the overall places of the whole tournament.
Upon winning Richie jumped up in excitement. “Yes! Now that's what I’m talking about!”
Ruth tossed her controller onto the pile of blankets next to her. “Yeah, yeah, you win. Congrats Richie.”
Richie turned to Steph. “For my last question, I know I’ve asked something similar before but I still want to know for sure. Will you do everything you can to keep our secret?”
“I promise I will do what I can, I will protect it as if I had the gift too.”
Richie sat back down on the couch with his head in his hands and his elbows on his knees. “I just… When you ask what my biggest fear was and specified it had to be something that wasn’t about you know what, it’s a good thing you made that exception. Because if you didn’t I would have said people finding out about us, people kidnapping us to perform experiments or people just straight up killing us. So when I learned that someone as social and connected as Stephanie Lauter knew everything I panicked, and I’ve been stressing out about it for the past few weeks! I’ve been making so many dreamcatchers for myself and they can only do so much!”
Richie took a moment to catch his breath, he pulled his head up to look at Steph. “I guess what I’m trying to say is, we are counting on you Steph. Do you understand that?”
Steph looked Richie dead in the eyes. “I swear on the soul of my mother Rose Lauter, I will keep this secret.”
Richie gave a quick laugh that was really just a quick exhale. “Throw me the rope.”
With that everyone started cleaning up and putting everything away. In the middle of this task, Steph realized something. “Hey Richie. This might be a stupid question, but didn’t you say that you’ve been making a bunch of dreamcatchers and they can only do so much. I thought it was a simple apply for no nightmares, or is there more to it?”
“Oh, that. Yeah whenever we heal ourselves or use our own dream catchers on ourselves it doesn't work as well as it does when we use it on someone else. It probably has something to do with the flow of energy or something else like that.”
Peter stepped into the conversation at this point. “By the way Richie, if you need Ruth or me to make you a dreamcatcher, just let one of us know and we can work something out.”
“Thanks.”
After everything was put away Steph made her way towards the front door. “This was actually kinda fun. Thanks again for inviting me over Pete.”
“No problem Steph.”
“Oh and Richie, what time tomorrow should I come over so you can check my phone?”
“Does two o’clock work?”
“Fine by me. See you guys later.”
Steph made her way back to her car and drove home, and was able to get home before her eleven thirty curfew. “Won’t that show dad.” she thought to herself with a bit of sarcasm. Solomon, he didn’t really care that much. Sometimes Steph thought the curfew and most of the rules he made were there just so he could have another reason to get on her case. It didn’t really matter tonight as by the time Steph got home her dad was already in his room, presumably asleep. So she slipped into her room, got ready for bed and went to sleep.
Notes:
I don't know how a Princes Bride quote ended up playing a part in the plot/character progression, but it did.
Also I've been considering writing on of those "Character watches something" fics to show what happened while they were watching Clue. I'm still on the fence right now so no promises.
Chapter 12: Discord: The Opposite of Harmony
Summary:
Richie helps Steph with her phone, but not before she get's mad at her dad and goes to Peter to complain for a bit.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
The next morning Steph woke up and went downstairs for breakfast to find her father already there with a cup of coffee. Steph tried to ignore him, heading straight for the coffee maker to get started on her own cup, but Solomon always has something to say to Steph.
“Well Stephanie I presume you stayed out of trouble last night?”
Still using the coffee maker and not turning around to face him, Steph answered. “Yes I did dad.”
“And I presume you returned home at a reasonable time?”
Steph pursed her lips before once again responding, “Yes I did dad.”
“Hm, maybe that camp actually helped for once.”
He finished his coffee before continuing. “Well I have to meet with some people before church today so if you actually feel like coming for once you’ll have to take your own car.”
As he walked out of the kitchen he not so subtly remarked, “But even with this recent development I doubt that.”
Steph was quietly fuming at this point. After she learned what her dad might be doing to her phone, all those questions about staying out of trouble and getting home on time and all the times she had snuck out were extra infuriating. Depending on what he was watching he might have known exactly what she was doing and where she was all those times she snuck out to party with friends. Meaning he might have asked those questions knowing the truth, and that Steph had lied.
Then his comment on that stupid camp and church attendance really irked her. He knew that camp was a shit show meaning he probably saw it as more of a punishment then a PR stunt. Then there was the whole church thing. Steph hadn't really gone to church regularly since her mom died and her dad started going to a different church. But it had nothing to do with mom or his faith, Steph knew it was no coincidence that Solomon’s new church of choice was the same as most of the people in Pine Brook. Sometimes he’d make her go to Christmas service but that was it.
Steph grabbed a travel thermos instead of a mug for her coffee, headed back up to her room and screamed into her pillow. After getting that out of her system Steph grabbed her phone to talk to Peter. She didn’t care if her dad might hear some of this she needed to vent.
August 23rd 8:09 am
Please tell me u arent bissy right now
No not really, are you ok?
Physicly im fine. But my dad is being even more of a dick then usual
Oh, I’m sorry. Is there anything I can help you with?
Can i come over to your place?
Sure. My parents are heading off to church in about 30 minutes and probably won’t be back until 11-ish. Address is 3281 Walnut Dr.
Thks b there in about 30 minutes.
- - - -
By the time Steph arrived at Peter’s place she had mostly calmed down, but she still wanted to vent her frustrations. She parked on the curb next to a typical one story suburban home with a semi-maintained flower bed under the two front windows and an older but nice looking car in the driveway. Steph sent a quick “Im here” text, headed to the front door and rang the doorbell.
Peter was quick to open the door. “Hey Steph.”
“Thanks for letting me come over Pete.”
Steph walked inside to find herself in the living room. It had a big couch set with all the pieces arranged to make it look like an L, a TV mounted on a TV shelf that went all the way around it, some old family photos on the wall and some decorations on the shelves that were looking just a little dusty.
Steph sat on the couch and Peter sat down next to her as he continued. “Sure thing. I’m just surprised you came to me of all people.”
“It’s mostly about my dad and what he’s doing to my phone.”
“Oh.”
“I knew if I talked about it to any of my other friends it would ride the gossip train around town and possibly reach my dad. Besides since you already know about it and since I know you can keep a secret, I figured I could talk it out with you.”
“Okay that’s understandable. And I should have figured that you would still be upset because of this.”
“Upset and frustrated. So this morning before I came here he first asked me if I did anything stupid, illegal or dangerous. Immediately after that he asked if I made it home before my curfew. But the thing is, if he really is bugging my phone then he would already know that! Then when I said I was a good girl and didn’t break any rules yesterday he remarked that maybe that stupid camp actually worked for once. Even he knew that place was useless! Plus I’m starting to get the feeling that sending me to camp was more about punishing me then doing PR control. Finally just as he was leaving to get ready for church he remarked that even with my supposed good behavior I still wouldn’t go to church with him. Even though he only goes to network with all the rich bastards who all go to that one church next to Pinebrook!”
Peter just stared as Steph finally stopped to catch her breath for a bit. She sighed before continuing. “So basically I just needed to let all my thoughts out to someone who would get it and not spill the tea so to speak.”
Peter rubbed the back of his neck for a bit as he processed everything. “Wow. I knew your dad wasn’t the greatest person, but you were right about him being a dick. Setting aside the whole cellphone thing, I didn’t expect your dad to be the church type, but just going to socialize makes sense. They’d never say it, but the main reason my parents still go to church is to chat with friends and the free coffee and donuts they have before it starts.”
“The thing is before mom died we would go to her church on Christmas and Easter. Then only about six months after she was gone he started going to the same church those other Pinebrook snobs go to every Sunday. Sometimes it makes me wonder if he even cared before everything happened, you know?”
“Stop me if this is something you don’t like to talk about, but I take it you miss your mom?”
Steph leaned back and started to sink down the back of the couch so she was half sitting half lying down. While everyone knew she didn’t have a mom, it had been so long that Steph rarely talked about her mom anymore. Her mom had no siblings, both of her mom’s parents died shortly after Steph was born and her mom had no relatives here in Hatchetfield. So it was really only Steph and Solomon who were mourning her. Except he never seemed to care as much as she did. It didn’t help that it happened at an age where the adults were still extremely patronising, her peers couldn’t really understand and was still so confusing to Steph. So she had never really talked about mom to anyone in a meaningful way, and she still wasn't sure she wanted to.
“Yeah, I do. But it happened years ago when I was six, I’ve pretty much accepted it now. Besides I didn’t come here to talk about her, I came here to talk about my dad.”
“Oh yeah, we can focus on that instead if you want. So after learning that he might have bugged your phone, you’re extra mad at him because now everytime you think you got away with something your dad has known about it.”
“Exactlly and he’s never said anything about it! Why hasn’t he said anything about it?!”
“This is just speculation but I’m guessing one of the reasons is if he started punishing you for stuff he only knew about because he bugged your phone, you would have gotten suspicious and his cover might have been blown. Additionally, you talking about how much he cares about his reputation makes me wonder if he does it so he can more easily sweep up anything you do that could impact his image.”
“Yeah that sounds like him. Anytime he cares about me, he’s actually caring about himself.”
“Well hopefully Richie can try to do something about it. In the meantime, what do you want to do?”
For the next hour or so Peter and Steph just kept on talking about Solomon as well as Peter’s dad how parents can suck sometimes. Eventually Steph got a text from Brenda saying that she and Stacy were heading out to get some Starbucks and that Steph should join them. So for the rest of the morning Steph hung out with them and chatted about music and how Brenda and Stacy were excited for cheer to start up again. Eventually she got a text from Peter.
August 23rd 12:13 pm
Hey Richie texted me to tell you that his address is 7244 Juniper Ln. sense he forgot to tell you last night.
Thanks
I probibly should have asked you that earlyer
- - - -
Steph pulled up to what looked like an old stereotypical double story dollhouse, but real. It also had a white picket fence and some rose bushes along the front fence. Steph wondered if this place could get any more stereotypical. As she walked up to the front door there was a welcome mat and a sign above the doorbell that read, “Welcome to our home”. Steph rolled her eyes as she rang the doorbell and almost immediately the door opened to reveal Richie on the other side.
“Hey Steph, follow me.”
As Steph walked inside to find this house was just as stereotypically old American home as the outside was. In the living room there was a two piece couch set with many pillows, a fireplace mantle with many nick-nacks, on the wall that led to a hallway there were dozens of family photos and to top it all off right above the TV was a wooden sign decoration that read “Bless this Mess”.
“Wow Richie, who was in charge of the decorating here? Mrs. Chasity?
“Well my mom and her are friends actually.”
“Really?”
“Well they live just three houses around the corner and the best way to describe my mom is if you take Karen Chasity but she cared about the PTA instead of the church, you’d get her.”
“Ah I see.”
Steph followed Richie into the kitchen then opened a door that led downstairs to the basement. The first part of the basement was a small six foot hallway with two other exits. Immediately to their left was a doorless frame that led to a cement room with a washer, a dryer, some boxes, a boiler and on the wall a circuit breaker. But at the end of the hallway was a door with a few posters of giant robots and guys with flashy swords that Steph kind of recognized that almost covered up a piece of paper that read “Richie’s room KEEP OUT!”
“Question, why is your room down here of all places?”
“First and foremost I wanted my privacy because of you know what. But it's also so I don’t have to share a room with my brothers. If I’m down here we can have our own rooms.”
“You have brothers?”
“Yeah there's Trevor who’s sixteen and Daniel who’s fourteen. They're still upstairs, probably on their phones.”
In Richie’s room there was an unmade full sized bed with a pile of plushies in the corner of the bed next to the wall and a basket of laundry on the end of it, a desk with a laptop, some sketch books and writing supplies, a book self with nothing but figurines, on the walls were even more posters of stuff Steph didn’t recognize, a large rug in the middle of the room and there was a door that lead outside to a staircase out to the back yard.
“You know Richie this isn’t a bad place you got.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, you got a little spot where your family won’t bother you as much and you can sneak out without going through the house.”
“Exactly why I wanted the basement. Now let's see if we can’t figure out this phone thing.”
Steph gave Richie her phone as he plugged it into his laptop with a charger. For a few minutes Steph watched as he switched between the two devices, selecting files, looking at code and Googling some tech stuff Steph barely understood. After a bit she sat down on the bed as she waited for Richie to do his thing. Eventually Steph started looking at some of the posters in Richie’s room to see what she could recognize. There was an Avatar: The Last Airbender poster and a Dragon Ball Z poster she was able to easily recognize, but the rest were for stuff she hadn’t watched. There was one with a bunch of people in sci-fi outfits with a red robot in the background, one with this guy in a brown jacket and some contraption on his belt fighting a giant with no skin to hide the muscle, this blond guy wearing an orange jumpsuit and a blue bandana and so many more.
Eventually Richie spun around his chair to turn to Steph. “I think I’ve figured it out.” Steph got up to look at the screen before Richie continued. “So it looks like your phone was bugged with a monitoring software called EyeSpy. According to their website they allow people to monitor phone calls as well as texts and the phone's location for an additional fee.”
“Well knowing my dad he probably paid for everything.”
“Luckily there might be a silver lining to all of this. They don’t offer anything that lets your dad record what’s on your screen so if we stick to discord from now on, we shouldn’t have any issues. Just keep your phone somewhere safe if you ever visit the cave again and things should be good.”
“Whatever it takes I guess. Can you help me set it up though, I’ve never used discord before.”
“Of course, first you download the app.”
For the next few minutes Richie was able to walk Steph through the process so Steph was now part of the nerd’s discord server.
S.Lauter hey guys richie was able to get me on this thing
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski :)
gelphie4life yes!!! im so glad youre here!!!
S.Lauter bad news my phone is bugged good news its just calls texts and gps so this place is safe from him
Shiori Okami So from now on keep all talk about magic and werewolf stuff on here. Got it?
gelphie4life Aye aye captain!
S.Lauter actually ill mostly talk to you guys on here from now on so my dad cant read any of it
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski Sounds good to me.
gelphie4life :)
Shiroi Okami :)
As Richie closed his laptop, Steph put her phone back in her pocket. “Well Richie thanks again for helping me out.”
“No problem, glad I could help.”
“Well I better get going see ya later.”
Steph started going for the door to the rest of the basement when Richie spoke up. “If you want you can take the other door, head up the stairs, take a right and use the gate that leads to the driveway. That way you won’t run into the rest of my family.”
“Thanks, bye.”
As Steph left, got into her car and started driving away she had this bittersweet feeling inside of her. On one hand she had confirmation that her dad was even worse and more controlling than she thought, but on the other hand thanks to these new unexpected friends she was able to take some control away from him. Never did Steph ever expect that three nerds she barely knew the names of two months ago would be some of her most caring friends. But, she thought to herself, this is Hatchetfield and weirder things have happened before.
Notes:
Decided to not make Trevor and Richie twins but normal siblings so it would be more believable they would get separate rooms. But the threat of Solomon finding stuff out is taken care of. Next time everyone heads to Hatchetfield High to get their schedules for the start of school next week.
Chapter 13: Maybe Later
Summary:
Steph, the nerds and the rest of Hatchetfield High learn what classes they have for the 2020-2021 school year.
Notes:
Another slow chapter more about character exploration. I spent way to long trying to figure out everyone schedules to make it work for the story and have it make sense both logically and in character (I literally made a spread sheet to keep track of it all). Anyway I hope you enjoy.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
As Steph parked her car in the parking lot of Hatchetfield High she felt a sense of dread. While she didn’t hate school, she certainly didn’t love it either. But like every other teenager here she was here to get her school picture taken to put on her student ID card and pick up her schedule for the upcoming school year. Steph mostly remembered the classes she asked for, but there was the possibility that those classes got filled up and she was placed in one of her second choice classes. As Steph walked up to the entrance and into the commons, she saw Kyle walking towards the exit and her.
He stopped to talk with her. “Hey Steph how ya been? I heard from Brenda that camp was bad but not that bad?”
“Yeah pretty much. By the way, what classes do you have?”
Kyle pulled out a folded piece of paper from his back pocket and began to look for something. “Let’s see… there we go. First I got English 4, then Woodshop, then Pre-calculus which will suck, then Spanish 2, then P.E. Strength Training and finally U.S. History 2.”
“Doesn't sound like a completely terrible first semester.”
“Like I said, I'm mostly worried about math. Anyway it was nice to run into Steph but I got to go, Max and Jaison are waiting for me. Bye!”
And with that Kyle walked past Steph and out the school. Steph walked into the common area slash cafeteria and found it was set up like it was every year, a line of six or so tables where you could pick up your schedule depending on your last name. As Steph got in line for the table marked I-L she heard the loud screeching sound of a car speeding away. She turned around and saw through the giant windows in the front of the commons to the parking lot Max, Jason and Kyle in a pickup truck driving away at top speed. As the truck pulled out of the parking lot Steph also saw Peter, Ruth and Richie hiding in the bushes next to the entrance in such a way that while they could be seen by someone in here, they wouldn’t be seen by someone outside. The three of them then stepped out of the bushes and walked into the school. Peter spotted Steph almost immediately and all three of them walked over to her.
Steph gave a quick wave as they walked over. “Hey nerds.”
Peter waved back “Good to see you too Steph.”
“Quick question, why were you guys hiding in the bushes?”
Peter looked at the ground, Richie rubbed the back of his neck and Ruth groaned before answering, “We were hiding from Max.”
“I figured that out, I mean what were the circumstances that led to you guys hiding in the bushes.”
Peter spoke up. “Right as we got here we saw Max walking towards the main doors through the windows. Looking around the best hiding spot was the bushes so we just hid in there until Max was gone.”
Richie piped in with, “We didn’t want to begin the bullying from Max before school had even started, you know?”
Steph thought for a bit before answering, “Yeah that makes sense. I just wish Max would learn to cool it.”
Peter gave a quick sigh. “Steph, everyone in this school wishes he would cool it.”
After the four of them stood around for a bit Peter broke the silence. “Well, we should probably get in line for our schedules.”
Richie replied, “Well this is my line so, yeah.”
With that Ruth and Peter went over to the lines for the tables with their schedule. Steph and Richie both waited together in line for only two minutes or so, made bearable through Twitter and mobile games. After Steph got her schedule she opened it to see what classes she had. For the first semester she had Digital Art , English 4, Woodshop, Spanish 2, Physics and Pre-Calculus.
Just as she had finished reading the schedule Richie walked up to her. “What did you get Steph?” Steph showed him her schedule. “Not bad. I don’t know if we’ll share any classes, but let’s see… Oh, we both have Digital Art first period first semester.”
Steph leaned over to get a better look and sure enough there it was, first period Digital Art. The rest of his schedule was completely different. After art was Computers & Programing 2, AP Calculus, AP English 4, Yearbook 4 and AP Physics.
Steph stood up straight again. “I didn’t know you were the artsy type.”
“My current plan is to become a programmer, either in cyber security or graphic design. That way I can work from home on my own schedule.”
“That’s smart.”
At that point Peter walked over to join them. “Hey guys got any classes together?”
Richie answered, “We do actually, Digital Art.”
“Nice, let’s see what we share.”
As Richie and Peter began comparing schedules Ruth walked over to them and approached Steph. “Hey what did you get?”
Steph showed her schedule to Ruth who started comparing it to her own. “Nothing this semester, but we’ll have Mythology next semester. I didn’t know you were into ancient myths and stuff like that.”
“Kinda, I mostly signed up for it because I heard it was one of the easier classes. What do you get?”
Steph read Ruth’s schedule and it had AP Pre-Calculus, Theater Tech 2, French 2, AP English 4, AP U.S. History and AP Physics.
At that point Richie and Peter high-fived each other and Richie turned to the girls. “We both got AP Calculus and AP Physics together.”
Ruth’s eyes went wide and she started smiling. “No way I got AP Physics this semester too!”
The three of them started comparing schedules as Ruth continued. “Yes! We're all in at least one class together. Plus Richie and I have AP English 4 together and Peter and I have AP U.S. History.”
As Ruth and Richie started comparing schedules, Peter stepped next to Steph. “So what did you get?”
Steph showed Peter her schedule. “Hey Steph, look! We both have Miss Mulberry's second period English 4 class!”
Steph looked at Peter’s schedule. He had Orchestra, English 4, AP Calculus, Marine Biology, AP U.S. History and AP Physics. She turned to Peter. “Sweet! Also I don’t remember you saying you played an instrument.”
“Yep, my mom made me take violin lessons when I was a kid and not so subtly suggested that I continue playing in high school. So I did, but ended up switching to the cello. Besides, it looks good for college applications.
“Well as long as you don’t hate it.”
Just then Steph got a text from Brenda asking if she was at the school because Stacy and her were on their way.
“Hey it sounds like Brenda and Stacy are heading here and want to meet up with me.”
Richie turned to Steph. “In that case we should go get our pictures taken. Don’t take this the wrong way, but I don’t want to be caught talking with you by the cool kids.”
Steph sighed. “If you want to play it safe I’ll understand. But Stacy and Brenda aren't that bad and I can vouch for you guys if you want.”
Ruth spoke up. “We’re not worried about them picking on us, we’re worried about them telling the football team and especially Max that we were talking to you.”
“Fair enough, those two can not keep their mouths shut to save their life. You guys can go if you want.”
As Richie and Ruth started walking down the hall towards the gym Peter stayed. “Hey Steph, just to let you know I don’t know how much the three of us can hang out with you at school. I remember and appreciate the olive branch you extended at camp, but I don’t think Max wants peace. Do you get what I mean?”
Steph felt conflicted. She liked hanging out with Peter, Richie and Ruth and she didn’t want them to be bullied. But from what she learned Max made others truly scared of him and probably wouldn't tolerate Steph rocking the boat so to speak. So while she wanted to try and fix things, Steph decided it would be best if she just stuck to the status quo.
“I understand Pete. We’ll just have to stick to hanging out in places Max and his friends don’t.”
“Then I hope you like the school library, the public library and the book store.”
Steph laughed a little bit. “You’re such a nerd Spankoffski. See ya later.”
With that Peter jogged down the hall to catch up with Richie and Ruth. Steph then pulled out her phone to let Brenda know that she was still at the school. About five minutes later Stacy and Brenda walked into the commons and walked over to Steph who was just chilling against the wall.
Stacy was the first to talk. “Hey Steph! How ya been?”
Steph shrugged. “Eh, it’s whatever.”
Brenda grabbed Stacy’s hand and started walking towards the row of tables. “Come on Stace, we gotta get our schedules so we can see what classes we have together.”
With that the two of them got in line at their respective tables. A few minutes later they came back with their leaders already open and schedules in their hands. Before Steph could say anything Stacy and Brenda both squealed with excitement.
After snapping her next to her ear to make sure she hadn't gone deaf Steph asked, “I take it you guys have at least one class together?”
This time Brenda was the first to talk. “Yep! We both have second period Woodshop and sixth period French 1 this semester and third period Physics next semester. What did you get Steph?”
Steph showed them her schedule and their smiles dropped as Brenda continued. “I only have fifth period Mythology next semester with you?”
Stacy then lamented, “And I only have fourth period U.S. History 2 next semester with her. And after we all had so much fun together in Spanish 1.”
Brenda piped in, “Why did you sign up for Spanish 2? Everyone knows to just do both Spanish 1 and French 1 to get the two semesters of foreign language taken care of easily.”
Steph gave a soft sigh. “Because the French teacher Mr. Robinson is married to Gabriela Robinson, who keeps running for mayor against my dad. I haven’t talked to either of them much but I do know they both don’t like my dad, so to play it safe I decided to not take any French and just hope I do good enough in Spanish 2.”
Brenda and Stacy both had a look on their faces like they were thinking over something. Then Brenda said, “Okay, that makes sense.”
Then Stacy put her arms around Steph and Brenda. “Well I guess that means we got to make the most of lunch until second semester then. Now let’s get our pictures taken and get out of here.”
The three of them walked down the hall to the gym where the photographers were set up. Steph was able to spot Peter sting in a stool getting his picture, then spotted Richie and Ruth leaning against the wall waiting for Peter. As Steph, Stacy and Brenda got in line Peter, Richie and Ruth walked out of the gym. Steph simply smiled and gave a slight nod as they walked by and Peter returned the favor, luckily Stacy and Brenda didn’t notice. After waiting in line for a few minutes they got their picture taken and got their student ID cards.
As the three of them walked out of the school Stacy turned to the others. “So, wanna do anything else today?”
Steph responded, “Well I was thinking of going home and bleaching the ends of my hair. Now that I have had my school picture taken my dad will let me be a little more creative with my hair.”
In truth Solomon would prefer it if Steph never dyed her hair, but so long as she had normal hair in “official photos” as he called them, he wouldn’t punish her for it.
Brenda spoke up. “Oh, that reminds me I got to make an appointment to touch up my roots. Should I book one for you? Get all our hair done together?”
Stacy started to squeal. “Oh em gee! Yes absolutely!”
But Steph responded, “Sorry, but I’m short on cash right now. So I’m just going to do it myself at home like I always do.”
Brenda sighed. “All right, just let us know when you have the money so we can do stuff together.”
Stacy gasped as she got an idea. “Or even do some back to school shopping!”
The two of them jumped up and down as they squealed in excitement as Steph just stood there. Steph then pulled out her phone as if she had just gotten a text. As much as she liked Brenda and Stacy, Steph wasn’t in the mood right now so she wanted to get away.
“Hey I just got a text from my dad telling me to meet him at home so I got to go.”
Stacy turned to Steph. “Okay, just send us some pics after you dye your hair.”
“Will do.”
With that Steph walked back to her car and began to drive away. After getting back home she checked the time, it was three fifteen. With two or so hours until her dad got back she headed up to her bathroom and got to work. This wasn't the first time Steph had dyed her hair on her own, so it didn't take too long to get everything set up. After mulling it over for a bit she decided on dying around three inches of the ends. After it was all done she looked in the mirror to see the results. It was more of a platinum blonde than the pale golden blonde she was going for but it still looked good.
After taking a few photos she uploaded them on her insta. She got the usual comments from the cheer team, the football team and the others in her social circle. But then after a bit she got a notification from discord.
gelphie4life Did you guys see Steph's insta? She dyed her tips.
S.Lauter yep i did
(S.Lauter added a photo)
gelphie4life OMG that looks so good!
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski :)
Shiroi Okami I just got back from the store picking up some hair dye. I guess we were both waiting until after school photos huh.
S.Lauter yeah pretty much
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski What color are you going for this time Richie?
Shiroi Okami I'm trying to go for Hatsune Miku blue.
gelphie4life Not going for bright green again?
Shiroi Okami That was a fun experiment, but I like blue better and want to go back to that.
After that the rest of them continued to talk about the times Richie dyed his hair. Eventually Steph got a call from Brenda so she talked with her until her dad came home. At first Steph stayed in her room, but eventually her dad called her down stairs. As Steph started walking down to the ground floor, Solomon started talking to her from the kitchen.
“Stephanie I need to see your classes and teachers, bring me your schedule so Ms. Tessburger can make a copy.”
Steph knew this is what he would say so she had already grabbed her schedule before heading down stairs. As soon as she walked into the kitchen Solomon stared at Steph and her new hair color.
As Steph handed her dad her schedule Solomon asked, “Tell me you didn’t get your school photo looking like that, right?”
“No dad. I got my picture taken then I dyed my hair.”
Solomon muttered a quick “Fine.” before taking Steph’s schedule and walking out the room and down the hall towards his office.
As Steph walked back up to her room she pulled out her phone to check twitter but decided to check discord first. She was met with a photo of Richie with the hair on the top of his head dyed blue and the nerds debating whether it was google blue or pokémon tcg water type blue, whatever that meant. Steph decided to throw in her two cents, she sent a message that the color looked closer to twitter blue. Peter and Ruth agreed that was probably the closest one while Richie kept complaining that he didn’t get the Hatsune Miku blue he was going for. Steph considered asking what he was talking about but she got a text from Stacy. Steph decided it would be best to just look it up later as she did not have the time for a nerd ramble right now, maybe later.
Notes:
Heads up the end of the quarter for my school is in two weeks so I don't know if I'll have time to write this during that time. So don't be surprised if the next update takes awhile.
Chapter 14: Second Hand News
Summary:
Steph goes to the last party of the summer, has more then a bit to drink, and is brought to safety but some unexpected assistance.
Notes:
Guess who had to get this out of her system because all she could think about was this while trying to write one of her papers for school. This gal. Thankfully the paper's minimum length is two pages so it shouldn't be that hard to churn out in a day or two.
Anyway I hope you enjoy.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Steph stood in front of her closet trying to decide on what to wear. Tonight was a night Steph had been looking forward to for weeks, the end of summer party. It was Hatchetfield High School tradition for the HFHS seniors and a few brave juniors to go down to the relatively secluded section of Starry Cove Park that was right next to the edge of Witchwood Forest and have a giant party before school started. Steph had been one of those brave juniors last year so she knew what to expect, loud music with way too much bass, the swim team and other athletes trying to one up each other with complicated dives into the lake, and lots of drinking games.
By now Steph had settled on a sparkly green top and a leather jacket but she couldn’t decide between jeans or a mini skirt and leggings. Steph considered texting Stacy or Brenda and asking one of them, but if she did her dad would know about it. Then again he probably already figured out that she was sneaking out to a party tonight but still. Steph then considered asking the nerds, but they probably weren’t the most knowledgeable on fashion. Then again just bouncing ideas off of them might be helpful. After thinking it over she decided to ask the nerds.
S.Lauter So im heading to this party tonight and dont know what to wear. Ive desided on a shrit and jacket but cant deside on leg wear
S.Lauter sent a photo
S.Lauter Any thots?
gelphie4life Go for the skirt it’ll look so cute!
Shiroi Okami ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Go for whichever one is the most comfortable to wear?
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski My vote is the same as Richie’s. By the way, why are you asking us, a guy who unironically wears suspenders and a bowtie, a girl who still wears headgear, and a guy who tries to style his hair like an anime protagonist, for fashion advice?
S.Lauter Cuz my dad is spying on all my text messages to my frends. He definitely knows about it by now and i just want him to know as little as posible about the party tonight
gelphie4life Okay that makes sense. I take it you’re getting ready for the big popular kid end of summer party?
S.Lauter Yep i take it you guys arnt going?
Shiroi Okami Do I look like I have a death wish?
gelphie4life If Max saw us there he would rip us to pieces then drown us in the lake! And I’m only slightly exaggerating!
S.Lauter If you guys want to say you went just wait till midnightish when everyone will be to drunk to notice three nerds off to the side takeing a pic as proof you went and then running away. I know there are a few who do that every year
gelphie4life Even getting close would cause my anxiety to sky rocket
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski What would be the point of claiming to have gone to a party like that?
S.Lauter Social clout and braging rights
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski Well our current high school survival strategy is laying as low as possible and graduating with a high GPA to get away from people like Max.
S.Lauter It was just a sugestion
Just then Steph heard her father call for her from another part of the house. So she sent a quick “gtg ttyl” message and went downstairs to see what he wanted. As Steph made her way down to the living room where her father and Miss. Tessburger were putting on coats as if they were leaving.
Once Solomon saw Steph he began to talk to her. “There you are. Tonight I am attending a dinner party and won’t be back until around ten tonight. I hope you don’t do anything stupid while I’m gone, understood?”
Steph just gave a quiet, “Whatever.” as she went back upstairs to her room. She began to start planning things for tonight. If her dad was going to be gone until ten and the party started at eight she would probably leave around eight thirty so she didn’t show up to the party too early. Luckily she lived within walking distance from Stary Cove park so she didn’t need to take her car and risk her dad noticing it missing when he came back. So if everything went according to plan things should be fine.
- - - -
Shiroi Okami It’s official, my mom is making me have my B-Day family dinner on the 5th after sabbath is over. Meaning we’re going to have to go for Friday afternoon or Sunday instead.
gelphie4life Good thing I haven’t bought the tickets yet.
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski Well my parents never make me go to church and I know Ruth’s parents don’t go so I think we can make Sunday work.
gelphie4life Well if it makes you feel better we can go to that sushi place first then go to the show at the rec center I want to see.
Shiroi Okami Thanks Ruth.
S.Lauter Hwy guyd wat r u takkimg avout)
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski Oh hi Steph we were just talking about our plans for Richie and Ruth’s birthdays.
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski Are you okay? How much have you drunk tonight?
S.Lauter Wate irs yoir giyes bday sooon! Y didbt u twll me? O csn ger u 2 sotjinf!
S.Lauter Ots fime ibe vin tjis drumk b4
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski Okay! Someone needs to go there and get her home. Richie? Ruth?
S.Lauter Hey this is Trevor typing for Stephanie who I think said “Hey you’re Richie’s brother right? Tell your brother I’m fine.” Also why do you have what looks like a roleplay discord with Stephanie of all people?
Shiroi Okami TREVOR YOU PISS STAIN WHY ARE YOU AT THAT PARTY AND HOW DID THIS HAPPEN!
gelphie4life :O
S.Lauter You know how I’ve been hanging out with the other theater kids tonight, well we were playing truth or dare and Caitlyn dared me to go to this party and take a photo without being seen. As I was making my way through the tree line I came across Stephanie sitting on a log clearly drunk, she saw me and told me to type that message. Probably because she doesn’t have the hand eye coordination to type right now.
Shiroi Okami FINE! Just don’t read any older messages!
S.Lauter Why not? Something you don’t want to tell me?
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski This technically is/was a roleplay server. Ruth started this and tried to set it up for ABO roleplay. We kinda half heartedly went along with it at first but now we mostly just use it to chat. He doesn’t want you to be scared by some of the stuff Ruth used to post.
S.Lauter Oh… Thanks. But why is Stephanie a part of this?
Shiroi Okami That’s her story to tell. Now please bring Steph here so she can sober up in a safer place. Please use the basement entrance and please don’t let anyone else know.
S.Lauter Are you sure? Won’t she get mad about getting dragged to our place?
Shiroi Okami It’ll be fine trust me. For now just get her here safely and keep all of this to yourself. Got it?
S.Lauter Fine but in exchange I want you to change your birthday dinner from teriyaki chicken to pizza.
Shiroi Okami FINE JUST DO IT!
Shiroi Okami (╬ ಠ益ಠ)
S.Lauter Love you too bro.
- - - -
As soon as Steph walked into Richie’s room she was hit by another wave of nausea she’d been fighting against for awhile now. Luckily Richie noticed and grabbed the small plastic trash can in his room and gave it to Steph to catch anything she might throw up. After Trevor helped Steph sit down on Richie’s bed he turned to Richie and said, “See, I told you this room stinks.”
“Hey, I used the last of my air freshener earlier and it’s not my fault I have overactive sweat glands!”
“Still, can’t you try something to get rid of the wet dog part of the smell. I mean where does the wet dog smell even come from?”
Steph looked up to retort, “Hey, Richie is not a wet dog!”
They both looked at Steph with puzzled looks before Trevor continued after turning back to Richie. “Whatever. Now do you want me to get anything?”
“Nope just head back to your friends or just go to bed.”
“Alright. I just got to know how you of all people ended up being friends with Stephanie?”
“She and Pete were both sent to Abstinence Camp against their will. So they bonded over not wanting to be there. Pete then invited her to hang out with all of us and I guess she liked us enough to stick around.”
Steph looked up from the can again to speak “It’s because they are the kind of weird I don’t mind. Especially Pete, he’s so funny and sweet.”
Trevor started walking towards the door to the rest of the house. “Whatever. Now Richie, you agree to tell mom that you want pizza for your birthday dinner?”
Richie gave a frustrated sigh. “Yes I do!”
“Then this will stay between us like we agreed.”
Trevor closed the door behind him as Richie sat down in his chair and turned to face Steph.
“So-”
But before Richie could continue Steph started talking. “You can burn me at the stake if you want.”
“What why?”
“I said if I ever goofed up on the secret you guys were free to burn me at the stake.”
“Oh right, that conversation. Why do you think you screwed up?”
“I allowed Trevor to look at the discord server we talk about werewolf stuff on.”
“Okay that could have been bad. But I think we have it under control. Because of Pete’s coverup he probably didn’t see anything daming and I was able to bribe him into silence for the time being. I was just going to ask for permission to heal you.”
“Ohh… Okay go ahead.”
“Head or stomach first?”
“Stomach, I’ve been fighting the feeling of kneading to hurl for a while.”
As Richie’s hand began to glow he placed it on Steph’s stomach. While focusing on the healing process he asked, “Now I also wanted to ask you if anything else happened at that party we should know about?”
“Uh, give me a sec. Umm… Oh Max said you should stop showing off too much as Zeek at the football games.”
Richie moved on to the head as he continued the conversation. “Uh, I guess that’s good to know but I was talking about you saying anything about the werewolf and magic stuff.”
“Oh, right. Um, one of the smoke club kids said something about the campfire we had going. Something about how because we were using branches from the Witch Woods the smoke was magic. I didn’t say anything revealing when asked for my opinion on that stuff. Just that I was open to the idea of magic being real.”
Steph then felt a strange sensation like her brain rebooted for a second, then it was suddenly a lot more clear.
“Whoa, okay. I guess that’s what sobering up instantaneously feels like.”
“You good? Peter didn’t respond like that when I helped him after Ted gave him a few drinks for his eighteenth.”
“How much did he drink?”
“Two beers.”
“Oh please that’s nothing I was dealing with three beers and one and a half jagerbombs.”
“Okay? Well, thanks for not saying anything even when drunk.”
“You're welcome. I tried to watch myself so I didn’t get completely shit faced. That's why I was off to the edge and trying to message you guys.”
At that point they both got an update on Discord from Peter saying he was here in front of the house.
Steph was a little confused so she asked, “Did I miss something earlier?”
“Yeah, while Trevor was dragging you here we all agreed that Pete should use his mom’s car to give you a ride so you don’t have to walk half way across town.”
“You guys didn’t have to do that.”
“Pete insisted. Now can you please get going? I don't want to wake my parents.”
“Sure thing.”
After Steph walked through the backyard and down the driveway she spotted a semi-old red Camry parked on the curb with Pete waving at her from the driver’s seat.
As soon as Steph opened the passenger seat door Peter said, “Hey Steph, are you feeling okay? I can heal any nausea or headache you got or we can do this the old fashion way with some of the Advil and water I brought if you want.”
Steph sat down, closed the door, and answered, “Don't worry about Spankoffski, Richie already took care of that for me.”
“So you’re all better? Good.”
“It was a little weird getting instantly sober though. Richie said you didn’t have a reaction when healed you.”
“That’s because he healed my hangover the next day.”
With that Peter put the car in drive and started heading for Steph’s place. Steph noticed that Peter was wearing something different, a gray-ish and green-ish argyle sweater.
“Hey Pete, what’cha wearing right now? It looks nice.”
“Oh, this old thing. It was a Christmas present from my aunt. I just put it on as I was heading out cause well, you know, the night is cold.”
“Listen I know you got your signature look, I’m just saying this I think this looks good too. Maybe even better.”
Peter’s face started turning pink. “Wow, thanks Steph.”
Steph didn’t notice the change in Peter’s face as she was looking at her phone. “You're welcome. By the way, mind if I pull up my Spotify?”
“Oh, go ahead.”
“Thanks. ‘Bout time I introduced one of you guys to one of the best albums out there.”
With that Steph started playing Fleetwood Mac’s Rumors album. The two of them simply listened to the music and enjoyed each other's company for the rest of the drive. As they rounded the corner on to the street Steph lived she taped Peter on the shoulder.
“Hey, just drop me off here. I think my dad’s asleep but I don’t want to risk him seeing you.”
Peter pulled the car next to the curb and put it into park. “Okay, I trust that you know what you’re doing. See you Monday in class?
Steph stepped out of the car but before she closed the door she bent down to look at him and answered, “See you Monday in class.” And with that Steph closed the door.
Notes:
For those of you wondering what Steph was trying to type.
Hey guys what are you talking about?
Wait, it's your guys' birthdays soon! Why didn’t you tell me? I can get you two something!
It’s fine I’ve been this drunk before.
Chapter 15: First Day of School pt1
Summary:
Steph's and a bit of Peter's first day of school. Steph runs into an old "friend" and makes a new freind.
Notes:
Guess who decided to spend her spring break replaying Pokémon LA. But I was able to find some time to write and get this out. Unlike last time I did a part one and two because the chapter go really long, I planed on making the first day of school two parts. So it'll be a bit until the next update like usual. I hope you don't mind.
Chapter Text
As the seven o’clock alarm on her phone rang out, Steph rolled over to hit the snooze button then rolled back over to try and get some more sleep. After ten minutes the alarm rang out again, prompting a groan from Steph. After hitting snooze again Steph sat up in bed, wiped the sleep from her eyes, and started getting ready for the first day of school. After heading downstairs to grab a quick piece of toast and some orange juice while avoiding her dad, Steph headed back up to her room to get dressed. She decided on her favorite Fleetwood Mac shirt, a pair of ripped jeans, and black boots.
As Steph finished grabbing all her stuff and packing her backpack she heard a knock at her bedroom door. It was her dad here to give Steph a “warm” farewell on the first day of school.
“Morning Stephanie, I hope you have everything ready?”
“What does it look like?”
“Lucky for you I have a morning meeting I need to get to so I’ll ignore the attitude for now. Just don’t forget what I expect of you this year.”
“Don’t get caught up in any pregnancy rumors?”
Solomon was about to retort when Ms. Tessburger came up the stairs to talk to him. “Sir, Michael is on the line. He said it’s urgent.”
Solomon turned to Steph, “We'll talk about this later.” Then walked down the hall towards Ms. Tessburger and the stairs. But not before complaining out loud, “If it’s Coven trying to go through him to talk with me again I swear…”
Steph closed her door before she could hear the rest of what he had to say. After checking her phone for updates or anything really. She grabbed her bag and went for the door. But not before she decided to grab her green flannel jacket. While it was still a bit warm outside, Steph knew that the AC at school would either be barely working or trying to turn that place into a giant walk-in freezer, never in between. So she grabbed the jacket just in case.
- - - -
As Peter woke up he grabbed his glasses to read the time on his alarm clock. Six forty-two, three minutes before his alarm would go off. He tried to get up but his legs were twisted up in sheets and blankets. After getting out of the trap his subconscious put himself in, he made his bed and started getting dressed for the day. He put on his usual khaki pants, his usual short sleeve button up shirt, and his usual black converse shoes.
But when it came time to decide on the bowtie and suspenders he was reminded of what Steph said about that sweater, “I’m just saying this I think this looks good too.” He pulled that sweater out of his closet. He had only worn it at home when it was cold out or when his mom made him wear something different during Thanksgiving or Christmas, because it would go against his signature look. But right now, he didn’t know why or maybe he didn’t want to admit why, he decided to try something new.
It was his last year of high school Peter reasoned, a last chance for some experimentation. So he decided to ditch the bowtie and wear that sweater over his button up shirt. But not before putting on his suspenders first, he still wanted to prevent a repeat of that day in sixth grade.
Peter walked into the kitchen to find a note from his mom on the counter that read, “Peter, your father and I have a meeting with a distributor this morning so we won’t be able to send you off to your first day of senior year. I promise to be home before school gets out, we can talk then. Love, mom.”
Peter crumpled the paper and tossed it in the trash. While Peter was used to his parents choosing work over him, it still stung a little. He made himself his usual frozen toaster waffles with jam and peanut butter as he went over the things he would need for school. He already packed his bag with school supplies and he didn’t need to bring his cello for orchestra until tomorrow. He had a tupperware of leftovers packed for lunch in the fridge and some bags of sweets in case his blood sugar got low.
He had made sure he had everything already packed for today. After breakfast he grabbed everything he needed for school and made his way down to the bus stop at the corner.
After a few minutes the bus came and Peter made his way to his usual spot near the front to stay away from the athletes and stoner kids who sat in the back. After a few stops Ruth got on the bus and sat down next to him on the bench.
“Morning Pete. Wait, why aren't you wearing your bowtie?”
“It’s our last year of high school so I figured I’d try out a new look.”
“Really? Keep this up and people will stop thinking you're rich.”
“Whatever. How’s Richie? I forgot to check discord this morning.”
“He said that his mom will drop him and his brothers off at school about ten minutes before the bell.”
“Okay, good to know.”
With that the two of them chatted away the rest of the bus ride to school.
- - - -
As Steph found a parking spot and parked her car, a pickup truck with Max and Kyle pulled up and parked right beside her. As all three of them got out of their vehicles Max walked over to Steph.
“Sup Steph. Ready to make the most of our last year here?”
“I guess?”
“It’s been a while since we’ve talked. Have you heard about how I saved the day at the Honey Festival?”
“Uh, yeah I have. From you at the end of summer party Saturday.”
“Wait, really? I don’t remember that?”
“Because I’m pretty sure you downed a whole six pack and God knows what else that night.”
“Oh yeah. Well now I can tell you it again, but this time soberly.”
Steph wasn’t sure if soberly was the right word to use, but she had gotten used to Max’s take on certain words. So she said nothing as he one again told her the story of how he saved the football team’s day at the Honey Festival by dumping a drink on some guy’s accordion who was set to perform in some polka band, thus preventing that band from playing their, “Dumb nerdy music that would have killed the vibe” as Max put it.
While Max went to Food Science & Nutrition and Kyle went to English, Steph made her way to Physical Art for first period. She had always preferred art, gym, and other extra-curricular classes over the mandatory math and English. So a class where she could draw, paint, sculpt, and whatever else Mrs. Dilmore had planned sounded good to her. As she entered the class room she saw two of the smoke club kids chatting with each other in the back corner of the room, some others she recognized from art last year, and a few she kinda recognized from other classes. As art was a class where you could pick where you sat, Steph found an empty table kind of near the back but not too close to where the stoner kids were.
As soon as she sat down she saw Richie walk into class. Knowing that none of her friends were in this class she quickly glanced at Richie then to the chair next to her and back again, trying to say “Hey come sit here.” Thankfully he caught on and took the open seat next to Steph.
As Richie sat down next to Steph he asked her in a really quiet whisper, “Are you sure about this?”
Steph answered in a normal but still quiet voice, “None of the other popular kids are in this class. And if the smoke club kids say anything, though they probably won’t, it will be taken with a grain of salt. So, as long as we don’t make it obvious we’re friends we can sit next to each other.”
Rich responded with the same volume as Steph, “If you say so.”
Class soon started and it was what every first day was like, everyone introducing themselves, the teacher telling the class what they were going to learn about and how they would be graded, and giving them a syllabus for a parent to sign.
Then came Miss. Mulberry’s English 4 class. As soon as Steph walked into class she saw the seat arrangement being displayed from the classroom projector and onto a white bord . At first Steph was thrilled to see that she would be sitting right behind Peter, but then she saw who was seated to the left of her seat, Grace Chasity.
Steph wanted to shout “Fuck this!” and walk out, but she steeled her resolve, took a breath, and walked over to her seat. Before Steph had even sat down Grace, who was already at her seat, started beaming at her.
“Oh my goodness, Steph! I'm so happy to see you. I'm so sorry I never gave you a proper goodbye at camp. I hope you're not too mad at me.”
Steph was annoyed and already near her wits end, but if she was able to ignore Grace at camp she could ignore her here too. Besides Grace was a rule follower, if a teacher said no talking then she would shut up.
“It's fine Grace.”
“Thank goodness, by the way I’m starting a petition and protest next week to get homecoming canceled. I was wondering if you were interested in helping out.”
Steph just stared at Grace thinking, “Lord, what won’t this girl complain about!” to herself before actually responding.
“Well I’m actually looking forward to homecoming, so I’ll have to pass.”
“Really? You should know how school dances a dens of envy and lust. That’s what Boy Jerry and Girl Jeri said.”
Steph muttered under her breath, “When it’s not a dance in the woods.”
“What was that?”
“Nothing, but I’m still saying no.”
“Well how about you Peter?”
Peter, who was messing around on his phone, looked up upon hearing his name. “What? Oh yeah, I’m also going to pass.”
“You too?”
At this point Miss. Mulberry had walked to the front of the class and began to speak. “Alright everyone, put your phones away and finish up your conversation because it’s time for class to start.”
Grace blurted out one final, “Fine, just ask Ruth and Richie for me at lunch Peter.” before turning straight in her seat to pay attention to the lesson.
Steph turned around to look at Peter who just shrugged in confusion. Steph gave a small whatever shrug in response then turned back around to pay attention to Miss. Mulberry.
“Alrighty everyone, welcome to English class. Now even though most of you guys already know each other, let's start by having everyone introduce themselves with their name and something they did this summer. Let’s start in the back with Grant Miller then work our way to the front.”
As the other classmates started introducing themselves Steph turned around towards Peter to whisper, “I wanted to tell you earlier but I like the new fit.”
But before Peter could say anything, Miss. Mulberry told Steph to be quiet. So she did, but not before seeing Peter smile and blush a little.
After a bit it was Peter's turn to go. “Uh, Peter. And I didn't do much. My parents made me go to camp, but aside from that I just hung out with friends.” As he said that last part he made eye contact with Steph and smiled a little. He then threw in a quick “So, yeah” before sitting back down.
After a few other kids went, it was Grace's turn. “Grace. And I had a wonderful time at Abstinence Camp. I got the best time for The Trial of Faith this year and I got to help my friend Steph through a hard time in her life.”
Steph wanted to her head against the desk, but she stopped herself as it was now her turn. “Steph. And I got sent to camp as punishment for being the subject of a dumb rumor that wasn't even true.”
After sitting back down Steph saw a look on Grace’s face, it was a mix of frustration and disappointment.
After class ended Grace talked to Steph as they both stood up to leave. “Hey Steph, I just wanted to ask if you liked going to camp with me?”
“Not really.”
Grace looked a little upset for a moment before continuing in a happy tone. “Well I guess not everybody likes camping and that’s fine. If you prefer being inside you can come to youth bible study with me tonight at six thirty. I can talk to you about-”
Frustrated by her persistence Steph cut Grace off and exclaimed, “For the last time Chastity, I’m not interested in any of your bible, abstinence, Jesus stuff. The only good thing that came out of me going to that stupid camp was some new friends who felt the same way I did about that place.”
As Steph turned to walk away Grace was stunned for a bit before a slightly determined expression came across her face. “Well” Grace thought to herself, “If Steph isn’t ready yet I can be patient with her.”
- - - -
Steph walked into wood shop class just as the bell rang. Mr. Houston stood up from his desk and turned towards her, “Just made it. Find a seat so I can take attendance.”
Steph scanned the room to find the one seat left. The only person she somewhat knew sitting nearby was Brad, one of the football team’s wide receivers last year. As soon as she sat down Brad tapped on Steph’s shoulder and whispered, “Hey Steph, how ya been?”
Steph turned just enough to face him, shrug, and whisper back, “Fine I guess.”
After Mr. Houston had taken attendance he began his day one lesson. After going over class expectations and basic safety rules he then said, “Now assigned seating isn’t really a thing in my class because we’ll be constantly moving between the work benches and the different power tools. But I still want you to introduce yourself and get to know the people sitting next to you today. I’ll give you guys a few minutes before we continue.”
Steph looked around to find a younger kid sitting at the bench next to the one Steph was at, staring down at her lap. Steph turned her chair to face the kid and began talking with her.
“Hey I’m Stephanie, what’s your name?”
The kid slowly looked up towards Steph with a surprised look on her face. Like she wasn’t expecting anyone to talk to her.
“Uh, Hannah.”
“Well nice to meet you. Most people take wood shop as a junior or senior, but you look too young to be one. What grade are you in?”
At this point Hannah was staring at Steph with a concentrated look, like she was studying Steph’s face.
Eventually Hannah said, “You kind of look like her.”
Steph was confused. “What?”
“I said you look like a friend of mine.”
“Oh, thank you?”
“To answer your question, I’m a freshman.”
“Okay, so what made you take shop class now?”
“My sister Lexi really liked this class and Mr. Houston.”
Steph was about to continue before she noticed Hannah turn her head a little and started staring at something in the corner. She followed the line of sight to some cobwebs. Then Hannah suddenly turned back to Steph and continued with the conversation.
“Sorry someone was talking to me.”
Steph, assuming for now that this girl wasn’t crazy, asked, “That being?”
“My friend who looks like you.”
“Oh, so you still have an imaginary friend?”
“Something like that, she said that you’re not a bad person and you’ll hopefully be nice to me.”
“Well I was planning on tossing you off the Nantucket Bridge, but I guess I won’t.”
Hannah sat there thinking for a second before asking, “That was sarcastic, right?”
“Yes, it was.”
“Good. What things do you like?”
“God, where do I start? Um, I like my phone, my friends, good music-”
Hannah jumped in asking, “Do you play any instruments?”
“Uh, no. I just listen.”
“Oh, okay. I can play the ukulele.”
“Cool.”
At this point Mr. Houston started telling everyone to quiet down so he could continue. Hannah immediately turned to face the front of the class, so Steph turned to face the front too.
As soon as the bell to end class rang everyone got out of their seats as quickly as they could, as it was now lunch time. But as Steph started to walk away, she heard Hannah say something to her.
Steph turned to face her and asked, “Did you say something?”
Hannah looked meek and shy, but she still managed to say, “Oh, uh, nothing. Just thanks for being the first person who's been nice to me.”
Steph not really knowing what to say to that just answered, “Oh, um, off course. Well, bye.”
With that Steph walked out the door and started making her way to the cafeteria.
Chapter 16: First Day of School pt2
Summary:
The second half of the first day of school from four different perspectives.
Notes:
I don't have much to say this time, so enjoy.
Chapter Text
As Steph walked into the school’s commons slash cafeteria she made her way to the lunch line. After getting her mediocre chicken sandwich, green beans, and milk then heading over to the condiment cart to get some barbeque sauce, she began looking over the rows of tables to find her friends.
The layout of where social groups would sit would shift a bit each year, but not that much. After making her way past the girls who eat their feelings and the girls who don’t eat, Steph made her way to the corner next to the windows where the cheer squad sat last year. They were sitting at the table to the left of the varsity jocks instead of the right as that table had been taken over by the JV jocks.
As she walked past the football team she saw what Max was eating and joked, “Hey Max, got enough pizza for your ranch?”
Max turned around to face Steph, looking mad before smiling after realizing who was talking to him.
“Oh it’s just you Steph. And to answer your question, yes. Last year I mastered the art of getting just enough ranch for both pizza and chicken sandwiches. If you ask me this is what they should be teaching in math class, not that fucking quad-dragon formula. Also why does something so nerdy have such a cool name? It’s not fair!”
After Max pounded the table to make his point Steph just shrugged and said, “I don’t know man. I just wanted to say hi before I sat down next to my friends.”
Max looked over to the table right next to his and saw Brenda and Stacy waving.
He smiled at Steph, “Alright, see ya later.”
As Steph took a seat next to her friends Brenda gave her a one armed side hug.
“So Steph, how were your first three classes?”
“Not that bad so far. The only bad thing I can really think of is the fact that Grace is in my English class.”
“Oh, okay. At least Chastity is more annoying than anything else, right?”
“You weren't forced to spend half the summer at camp with her. That’s all I’ll say.”
Just then the three of them saw Grace walk towards their table with a huge smile on her face. As Steph buried her face in her hands, Grace began talking with Brenda, Stacy and the rest of the cheer team.
“Hello cheer team I was wondering if you guys have the time to talk about the problem with school dances.”
- - - -
As Peter and Richie walked down the hall from AP Calculus they continued a conversation from earlier.
“So Pete, do you want to be president of the Astronomy Club again this year, or do you want me to take over this year?”
“No, I want to do it. It’ll look good for college applications.”
“You’re still planning on leaving for college? How many times do I have to remind you of the risks?”
“I’m still not sure. I know I should probably just apply to an online program like you are, but it’s complicated.”
“Look, I’ve accepted that I’ll live here my whole life like most of my family for the safety of you, Ruth, and myself. You probably should too.”
“I’ll keep thinking about it.”
The two of them made their way to the back of the school’s library, where they were able to find Ruth sitting at a table just getting her lunch out. Starting their sophomore year Peter, Richie, and Ruth started eating their lunch in the library to get away from Max and his cronies. And as long as they were quiet and didn’t make a mess, the librarian didn’t mind.
As the boys sat down Ruth smiled, “Hey guy, how’s it going so far?”
Peter was the first to answer, “So far pretty good. Except for the fact that Grace is also in Miss. Mulberry’s second period English class.”
Ruth groaned, “Ugh, that sucks. I also have her in French class. If that girl wasn’t so repressed I’d use that class as an excuse to woo her with the language of love.”
Richie rolled his eyes, “You say that about everybody in that class.”
Ruth just muttered a “Fuck you.” before eating her ham sandwich.
Richie continued, “Well since Grace and I have both been in yearbook together since ninth grade, it looks like we all have to deal with her.”
As Peter pulled out his lunch of pasta salad he complained, “What sucks is I was kinda looking forward to being in a class with Steph.”
Richie then said, “By the way Steph and I are sitting next to each other in art class. Since none of her friends are in that class, if we don’t make it obvious we’re friends it should hopefully be fine.”
Ruth complained, “Why do you two get classes with Steph, while I just have Grace.”
Richie raised an eyebrow, “Weren’t you just swooning over her?”
“Shut up!”
They then heard the librarian tell them to quiet down, so Peter said in a quieter voice, “By the way Grace wants to start a petition to cancel homecoming and is asking everyone about it, so heads up for when she asks you in yearbook.”
- - - -
As Grace left yearbook class she still hadn't lost hope. Sure Steph, Richie, and everyone else she talked to about getting homecoming canceled weren’t willing to help spread the word. But she still had sixth period to ask for help. So as Grace walked into Mrs. Collins U.S. History 2 she sat in her assigned seat and began to see if there was anyone in this class she hadn't talked to yet.
Grace saw a bunch of others she’d talked to earlier and one guy with a tie-dye shirt that she was pretty sure smoked weed, so she figured that he wouldn't be much help. But then Grace saw Max walk through the door.
“This is perfect!” Grace thought, “I didn’t get a chance to talk to the football team at lunch, now’s my chance to talk to the team captain and get their help.”
As soon as Max sat down at the table beside hers, Grace extended a hand for a hand shake.
“Hi I’m Grace, and you Max Jagerman captain of the football team, right?”
Max turned around with a confused look on his face. “Uh, ya?”
Grace continued as if nothing was going wrong. “Well I am currently working on a petition to get homecoming canceled, and I've been asking for help getting signatures. I was wondering if you and the rest of the football team would be willing to help.”
Max just staired, blinked a couple times, and asked, “Why the fuck would I want to help you cancel homecoming?”
Though a bit shaken up by the language, Grace continued. “Because nothing good comes out of that thing. Just temptation to give in to lust and envy and pride.”
“Hey what’s so wrong with lusting after a cute little girl if she’s down to play?”
“Because the Bible and the Jerry’s said that sex before marriage and masturbation is a sin.”
“Well they sound like fucking idiots.”
With that Max turned to talk with someone sitting at his table.
Grace on the other hand was upset. It was one thing for her classmates to say they didn't want to help gather signatures, it was another to insult the Jerry's and the word of God. That boy needed to actually read the Bible before he ended up falling into the fiery pits below.
- - - -
As Hannah stood on the curb by the main parking lot she eventually spotted Ethan's car pull up. She walked towards the car, opened the passenger door, and was greeted by Ethan giving Hannah a sweet smile.
“Hey Banana, how was your first day of high school?”
After Hannah got in the car and buckled up she answered, “Bad, then good, then bad again, then good again.”
As Ethan began driving from HFHS he responded, “Bit of a rollercoaster today. Do you wanna tell me about it?”
“First was Algebra, Wendy was there too.”
“Ugh, that girl that would pour water on you whenever you zoned out?”
“Yep.”
“Well that sucks. You said the next part was good, right?”
“Woodshop, Mr. Houston was nice and told me if I had a bad day I could talk to him.”
“Well I’m glad he decided to teach again this year. Me and Lex always thought that he was one of the better teachers.”
“Also, there was this girl in Woodshop that talked to me for a bit. She was nice and liked music. Her name is Steph.
“Wait, Stephanie Lauter the mayor’s kid?”
“Is there anyone else in Hatchetfield with the name Steph?”
“I don’t think so?”
“Then yes.”
“Huh, well good to know she isn’t a copy of her father or a mean girl. So what happened after that?”
“At lunch some big kid smacked my lunch tray onto the ground.”
“What? Do you know who it was?”
“He had a t-shirt with a football on it and a backwards cap.”
“Well if you figure out his name, let me know.”
“Okay.”
“Now you said there was one more good thing.”
“In health class I sat next to this boy named Daniel. He was nice. He talked a lot, mostly about martial arts and drawing. He showed me his sketchbook. We also have English 1 together.”
“Hey well I’m glad you made a few friends. Sorry that you also ran into some bullies.”
“It’s fine.”
“Anyway, we're going to head over to Lakeside until your sister is done with her shift then I’m taking the two of you home. Sound good?”
“Yep.”
- - - -
Peter got off the bus and made his way back home, there he found the right garage door open with his mother’s car parked in its usual spot. As Peter stepped inside he could hear his mom in the kitchen.
As he rounded the corner he saw his mom whisking something in a bowl, then said “Hey mom.”
She immediately stopped what she was doing and walked over to give Peter a hug.
“Petey, I didn’t hear you come in. How was school?”
“It was fine.”
“Sorry I couldn’t be here to wish you luck this morning, so I’m making beef stew with homemade bread for dinner tonight.”
Peter was used to stuff like this from his mom. It was a pattern that emerged even before she officially started working at the shoe store. She’d miss events or other important stuff with the excuse of something important, then would make it up with a kind gesture. Hoping gifts would make up for time.
So Peter didn’t have much of a reaction, he just said, “Sounds good. Just make sure you can give me a ride tomorrow morning, I need to bring my cello for Orchestra.”
As she walked back to her work she said, “I can do that. By the way if you have any syllabuses you need me to sign let me know after dinner, then I’ll take care of it.”
Peter walked into his room, put his backpack on the chair, flopped onto his bed, then pulled out his phone to talk with his friends.
- - - -
As soon as Steph shouted “I’m home!” she heard the clack of Miss. Tessburger’s high heels.
“Finally, now could you please give me any syllabi you received today so I can send copies to your father.”
Grateful that today was a full day in the office for her dad, Steph swung her backpack to her side and pulled out a folder with some papers. Steph handed it to Tessburger who quickly snatched it and walked off.
Steph walked into her room, put her backpack on the chair, flopped onto her bed, then pulled out her phone to talk with her friends.
- - - -
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski Anyone home?
S.Lauter I am wanna talk?
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski Hey Steph, how was the rest of your day?
S.Lauter Fine you?
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski Same. By the way the first meeting of the Astronomy Club is this Wednesday, you wanna come?
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski If you think it’s too risky for you to be in a nerd club I understand.
S.Lauter Maybe i can do it under the cover of my dad making me do so i have something good on my colege aplications
S.Lauter By the way isnt wednesday night a full moon?
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski Yep. We held our meetings every other Wednesday last year so it’s just a coincidence.
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski I’m just waiting for Richie and Ruth to show up so we can discuss plans.
S.Lauter Sense you guys know what youre doing ill leave you to it
gelphie4life I’m here! Had to talk with my mom first.
S.Lauter Sup ruth?
gelphie4life I don’t know how long Richie will be with his mom picking up him and his brothers. And to answer your question Steph, I’m good.
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski Just wanted to discuss if we were going to hunker down together in one of our rooms or in the cave?
gelphie4life I’m good with whatever.
S.Lauter gtg just got a text from stacy
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski All right, see you tomorrow.
Shiroi Okami Sorry I took so long… and it looks like I just missed Steph.
gelphie4life Yep
Shiroi Okami Oh well. Looking back on your question Pete, I don’t care either.
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski How do we feel about my place?
gelphie4life Fine by me.
Shiroi Okami Same here.
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski Alright I’ll ask my parents at dinner.
Chapter 17: Twilight Together
Summary:
The night of the full moon comes once again.
Notes:
So this took a lot longer then I expected. First I got a cold that turned into a minor case on pneumonia, don't worry I wasn't in the hospital just on antibiotics. Then I had to catch up on a bunch of school work while also getting ready for finals. Then I had to prepare for graduation. Then I delt with the fiasco of getting tickets for the TGWDLM:R and the subsequent work with planning a trip to L.A. And just normal writers block made getting this out a bit of a struggle. But I did it, and now I hope you enjoy.
Oh yeah as I just mentioned, I now have a two year degree from my local community college. So as a graduation gift for me, my mom and I are going to see TGWDLM Remount! I can't wait to be there.
Okay enough life stuff back to your not regularly scheduled, released whenever programing.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski Good news bad news about tonight.
Shiroi Okami What is it?
gelphie4life Can’t this wait until school starts?
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski Well I overheard my dad talking about inviting some guys over to watch the UM game tonight so bunkering down at my place might not be the best idea. But I’ve also talked to my brother and he said that if I need to crash at his place I’ll be by myself cause he’ll be out all night. TLDR we should probably bunker down at my brother’s place instead of my parents.
gelphie4life I’m fine either way.
Shiroi Okami Well I already told my mom I’m going over to your place, but I’m not getting a ride from her so I can get away with not telling her this update.
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski Sounds like everybody’s good?
gelphie4life Yep
Shiroi Okami Yep
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski One more thing, I'm meeting with the school club organizers this morning and I'm going to see if we can get the same time this year for astronomy club meetings. I'll let you know if there's any changes.
- - - -
As Steph walked into art class and sat down next to Richie. She looked around to check if anyone was paying attention to them before talking with Richie.
“Hey, can I talk to you about tonight and the Discord conversation you guys had earlier?”
“Um, sure?”
“First, I probably won’t be joining you guys like last time.”
“Okay. It's not like we expected you to.”
“Second, I know you guys have been doing fine by yourselves but do you guys need any help?”
“Nah, we got a system that’s worked for years. But if there’s an emergency like a satellite falling out of orbit and crashing into the apartment, we would ask you for help first.”
“Sure as soon as I learn to speak wolf, I’ll be your emergency contact.”
“Ya know we have a bunch of those phone stylus pens we can use to text and message people right?”
“I actually didn't. I just assumed that you couldn’t do anything on your phones on those nights.”
“Sure it’s awkward and slow but we can if we need to.”
“Good to know. And finally, I remember how you three were talking about birthdays coming up?
“Right mine is on Saturday and Ruth’s is this next Tuesday. I don’t need you to get me anything, but if you want to ask Ruth if she wants anything be my guess.”
“Thanks. Oh one more thing, were you playing on joining the astronomy club?
Steph just shrugged as Richie continued. “Well I just ran into Pete after he walked out of his school club meeting. Turns out there's going to be some changes to when we meet. We're going to meet every other week on Thursdays starting next week. And if you don't start right away that's fine.”
“Thanks. Like I said earlier, I'll think about it.”
- - - -
As Peter got off the bus and made his way home he was surprised to find his brother's car in the driveway. He made his way inside to find Ted and their mother standing in the kitchen, talking about the Tupperware pile on the countertop and Dad inviting others for the game tonight.
Ted sees Peter walking in and says, “Hey dorkus, how ya been?”
Peter shrugs, “Fine. What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at work?”
“Well apparently some idiot on one of the other floors blew a fuse and caused a black out in the building. So they sent everyone home early so they can find and replace the busted wires and get the power back on.”
Peter then asked, “Okay, what’s with all the tupperware?” looking at the pile on the kitchen counter.
His mom answered, “Well with dad throwing his little get together I ask Ted to bring back all of the containers of mine he had so I can store all of the leftovers.”
Peter turned to Ted, “By the way Ted, the first night observation for astronomy club is tonight and we need some place with peace and quiet, so I’m taking up your offer to crash at your place tonight. I know you don’t mind but I just wanna make sure you’re cool with Ruth and Richie being there too.”
“So long as they don't steal or break anything I don't care. Get whatever you need and I'll give you a ride.”
Peter thanked Ted and made his way to his room. From his backpack he pulled out anything he didn't need for his homework tonight or class tomorrow. Then from his closet he pulled out a storage bin about the size of two shoe boxes labeled “Peter's astronomy club supplies”. While it did contain some astronomy supplies it mostly contained full moon sleepover supplies like pajamas, snacks, a stylus, a can of air freshener, a lint and pet hair roller, an old door stopper from before they all installed locks on their bedroom doors, and some other stuff.
Peter grabbed the bin and some other stuff he wanted for tonight and sent them aside. He then told Ted he was ready to go. The two of them said goodbye to their mother and got into Ted's car.
As they were driving Peter turned to Ted and said, “Now I told Richie and Ruth to show up around seven, can you be gone by then?”
“Well I was planning on leaving around seven thirty-ish. But I can leave a bit earlier.
“Thanks.”
“By the way, how's school going so far? Any hot new transfers in your class?”
Peter rolled his eyes, “No same people as always.”
“Well how about that girl from camp, uh what was her name Stella?”
“One, her name is Steph. Two, we're just friends. Three, even if we wanted to date Max would crush me if we tried. And four, stop trying to interfere with my love life, I'm eighteen and I can handle it on my own now.
“Oh come on dorkus! How do you think you’ll do in college if you don't have any experience?”
“Well I read that there are plenty of people who don't date until college.”
“Yeah if you're a prude like Grace! Take it from me, it's better to get out there sooner than later.”
“Well if a nice, cute girl who's on the same rung of the social ladder as me shows up in my life I'll try. Would that make you happy?”
“Fuck yeah it would.”
- - - -
As Richie and Ruth got off the bus Richie got a text from his mom which he read aloud for Ruth.
“Hope you have a fun time with your friends if anything happens or you need me to drop something off for tonight or tomorrow morning call me and let me know”
Ruth looked over the text. “Huh no punctuation?”
Richie shrugged “She's gotten better. You should have seen her emoji faze three years ago.”
The two of them walked the short distance to Ruth's house, Ruth’s home was a little smaller than Richie’s home as it was only one story tall but it had plenty of room for Ruth and her parents. Ruth used her own house key to get inside as both of her parents were still working at her dad’s orthodontist office. The two of them sat down at the kitchen table and pulled out their homework.
Ruth turned to Richie and asked, “Do you want anything? I was going to grab a snack.”
“I’m good. Before we get started on homework, you got everything ready for tonight?”
From the refrigerator Ruth answered, “Yep, I have both of our astronomy club bins by the door in my room and I even restocked yours a little after I noticed the nearly empty hair roller.”
“You didn't have to do that. I can buy my own stuff, I'm the one who had a summer job.”
“But you're also the one saving up for a gaming laptop. By the way how close are you?”
“I just need a hundred and fifty more then I'm set.”
Ruth walked back in with a bag of grapes. “Well hopefully getting some birthday money will get you even closer. What’s the first game you plan on getting for it?”
“Probably Hades, it’s a roguelite about Greek mythology. It’s been in early access for a bit, but now it’s getting its full release on the seventeenth. ”
Richie pulled up some artwork and screenshots of the game on his phone to show Ruth who whistled and said, “Hello buff, handsome and, wait and minute! Aphrodite is nude in this game?!”
Richie sighed, “I should have known you would start drooling over the character design in this game.
“You gotta let me play this when it comes out, please?
“Just buy your own version for your Switch. Besides I don’t want you ruining my new laptop from your inevitable nose bleeds.”
“Shut up, let's just get started on this homework before my parents get home.”
- - - -
As Peter sat on the couch reading and waiting for Richie and Ruth to show up he got a DM from Steph.
S.Lauter Im testing the dm feature to ask you something without Richie or Ruth finding out
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski Ok, what is it?
S.Lauter I know we’ve only ben frends for a couple months but i still feel like i should get them something for their birthday. I talked to Richie in art today and he said that Ruth might like something and that he was good not geting anything but i still want to do something nice for both of them
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski Well… Richie has been saving to buy a gaming laptop so he’s been asking his relatives for cash on his birthday. I know Ruth has been asking her parents for a complete Star Wars box set. I was just planning on getting them both some new notebooks/sketchbooks.
S.Lauter Thx i got some ideas now
Peter (Parker) Spankoffski Quick question, do you want this to be a surprise or do you not mind if I tell them?
S.Lauter Idc
A few minutes later there was a knock at the door. Peter opened the door for Richie and Ruth who walked in.
As he closed the door Peter said, “Ted’s still here but only for a half an hour at most. After that we have the place to ourselves, unless Ted’s plans fall through. So I was planning to stay in the spare room, just in case.”
Ted had a two bedroom apartment. While Ted was never sure what to do with the second room except maybe turn it into an at home office or as just some storage space, as Pete started crashing at his place more it became a sort of spare bedroom with some old junk shoved in a corner.
Ruth just shrugged. “Fine by me. I’ll put me and Richie’s bins in there for when we need them.”
Soon all of them were sitting on the couch as Ted walked in wearing a shiny floral shirt with the first few buttons undone.
Peter pinched the bridge of his nose and asked, “Ted, what the fuck are you wearing?”
Without skipping a beat Ted responded, “It’s seventies week at one of my favorite bars. So I figured I’d head there and rev up the engine so to speak before heading out to my engagement later tonight.”
Peter was easily about to translate what he just said into, I’m going to flirt with some girls so when I get to Charlotte's place we can get right to it. While Ted tried (key word tried) to keep his most consistent relationship a secret, Peter had been around him long enough to put two and two together.
Peter just responded with, “You still look ridiculous.”
Ted gaped in an overly sarcastic manner. “Rule forty six, dress to touch breasts. I’ve worn something similar a few times before and it's worked so far.”
“Whatever! Just finish getting ready for your night so we can start our club meeting.”
Ted just grabbed the shoes he left by the front door and walked back into his room, but not before giving Peter the bird as he closed the door.
The three of them just sat in silence for a bit before Ruth eventually spoke up. “Hey Pete, is it weird that I thought that Ted looked kinda hot in that shirt?”
Peter immediately stared at her and shouted, “YES!”
Richie responded saying, “Really Ruth?! Just a little bit of exposed chest and you're looking past the mountain of shitty traits he has?”
Ruth put her hands up in surrender. “Sorry I can’t control what signals my brain sends me.”
Peter buried his head in his hands, took a deep breath, and said, “Let’s just move on and talk about anything else. Richie, Ruth, turns out Steph wants to get you two something for your birthdays.”
Ruth and Richie stared for a moment before saying, “What?” at the exact same time.
Peter continued. “Yeah, before you two got here she sent me a message asking what you two would like for your birthdays.”
Richie asked, “I thought I told her I didn’t really want anything?”
To which Peter responded, “Yeah she brought something like that up, but decided to get you and Ruth a little something anyway.”
Ruth made a little huh like noise before saying, “Wow, who’d have thought that Stephanie Lauter of all people would want to buy us birthday presents.”
Peter smiled, “I know. When Steph and I first started being friendly at camp, I thought of it as nothing but a temporary truce. But now we’re true friends.”
Richie smiled for just a second before saying, “There’s still this part of me that’s scared that she’ll turn on us if our friendship is exposed or she’ll mess up and tell someone about our secret. But so far she seems like a nice person.”
Ruth put her scooted over to Richie. “While I’m also nervous about those things, right now I’m just letting the joy of having a new friend be the stronger emotion right now. Maybe you can try the same thing.”
Richie looked at Ruth, raised an eyebrow and asked, “Did your attraction to Steph help you come to that conclusion?”
Ruth avoided eye contact and sheepishly mumbled, “Maybe?”
Peter looked over at Ruth and said, “I get it. You find eighty percent of the student body attractive and you’re desperate for physical affection.”
Ruth smiled and said, “Well, when you put it like that.”
Then Ruth started laughing before Peter and Richie joined in not a second later.
Eventually Ted left and the three of them settled into their usual routine of looking over homework, deciding if they wanted to watch something, getting some evening snacks, and anything else they wanted to do before moonrise.
As they started settling into the spare room and securing the door, there was a notification from discord. It was a picture of Steph’s bedroom window with the twilight sky visible through the trees and a caption that read, “Good night, ttyl” with a few smiley face emojis.
They all sent a quick good night message back as their ten minute warning alarm went off. Peter hit play on season seven of Star Wars: The Clone Wars and they all settled into another night under the full moon.
- - - -
As Ted stumbled back into his apartment at two in the morning he felt like shit. He tried to take his shoes off and put them on the shoe rack, but they ended up in the doorway instead. He reached for the doorknob of his room but it wouldn't open. In his current state it took him a second to realize that this wasn't his bedroom door, it was the door to the spare room where Peter and his friends were.
From behind the door he could hear weird snoring, probably from Ruth. As well as what sounded like someone tossing and turning in a bed with noisy blankets.
He tried to peek in the room to check on his brother like he used to do sometimes when Peter was little, but he forgot it was locked. He walked into his own room muttering, “Keep your secrets dorkus.”
Ted had noticed how Peter added locks to his room at his folks place and the spare room around four years ago. He asked once but didn't get a straight answer. He has a few standard guesses and one out there guess, but he was fine not knowing. He trusted Peter enough to let him keep the locks. After all, the chances of him actually having a bombshell secret like the stuff in the kinds of books those kids read was pretty much non-existent.
Notes:
Now I don't know if I'll have the next chapter done before I see the TGWDLM:R but we'll se what happens.
Chapter 18: Study Date?
Summary:
After getting caught cheating, Steph asks Peter to help her study.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
It had been about two weeks since the last full moon, and things had been going well between Steph and the nerd trio. They told Steph about the show the three of them saw together. Steph gave Richie and Ruth the stickers she bought as a birthday gift, which they immediately slapped on their water bottles and notebooks. The four of them were even able to have another game night together. But then came the pop quiz in Mulberry’s English class.
Steph knew she should have done reading and worksheets, but if she hadn't spent all night on Twitter then who knows what would have become of that little puppy who nearly bit her dad and didn't know any better.
So here she was staring at the quiz in front of her with no idea what a question about a kid who wouldn't accept money for lunch had to do with killing mockingbirds. Steph knew she would bomb this quiz. Normally she wouldn't care, but after the Twitter fight last night she was on thin ice and she needed to get a good grade. Thinking quickly Steph decided to ask Peter for help. Steph knew that Peter wasn't a cheater when it came to school but he would make an exception for her, right?
Steph spoke in the quietest whisper she could, knowing that Peter could still hear her. “Pete, please I need your help.”
Peter looked up at Miss Mulberry writing something at her desk then turned to Steph and whispered back, just loud enough for Steph to hear. “What is it? I'm almost done.”
“I'm just going to get right to it. I'm going to bomb this quiz and I want you to help me cheat.”
Peter's eyes went wide before very quietly yelling, “Cheat? Are you crazy?”
“No, I'm desperate. And don't worry it'll be simple, just finish the quiz we'll trade papers and I'll put my name on yours. And you can easily do it again even faster.”
“But what if we get caught?”
“Please, Pete. Don't you want to help me out?”
“Okay fine.”
Just as the two of them traded papers Grace pointed at them and shouted, “Cheaters!”
Steph muttered, “Oh God. Butt out, Chastity!”
Meanwhile Peter tried to reach out to Grace, telling her to just be cool.
She moved to avoid the physical contact, raised her hand and said, “Miss Mulberry, these two are cheating.”
Welp she's fucking dead. As Mulberry told them to go to the principal’s office Steph noticed how stressed out Peter was. Feeling bad as this was her fault, Steph tried to help him calm down.
“I'm sorry I got you in trouble Pete. Luckily it's your first misconduct and you're a straight A student, you'll likely just get lunch detention, maybe an hour of after school detention tops.”
Peter stopped looking around like a monster was about to pop out of nowhere and pounce, and turned to Steph. “I'm not worried about that right now. I'm worried about Max or one of his friends seeing the two of us together.”
“If it's brought up at lunch I'll just say you were the closest nerd I could try and convince to help me cheat. So don't worry about that right now. I'm not going to let Max hurt you, okay?”
Peter gave a slight smile, “Thanks Steph.”
The two of them made their way to the school’s main office where Principal Blim gave them both an hour of after school detention. As the two of them started walking back to class Steph turned to Peter and asked if he was doing okay. He was about to answer when he stopped dead in his tracks, quietly said “I hear Max coming, talk to you later.” then turned around and ran at top speed around a corner.
Sure enough as Steph turned back to the corner that led back to class, Max rounded the corner and walked over to her.
“Hey, Steph. What are you doing here?”
“Got sent to the principal for trying to cheat. Now I have detention this afternoon. What are you doing here?”
“Just using the restroom, but I gotta get back to woodshop to make sure some bitch doesn't use my saw for their project. See ya later Steph.”
Now technically no student could claim dibs on a piece of equipment in woodshop, but no one corrected Max, including Steph. As soon as Max left Steph made her way back to English class. While debating whether it would be better to wait for Peter or not, she heard footsteps. She turned towards the sound to see Peter rounding the corner and a quick pace.
Steph smiled. “Glad to see you made it here in one piece.”
“Hey I think I overheard you and Max talking, is that right?”
“It was just a three sentence conversation about what we were doing outside of class.”
With that the two of them walked back into class.
- - - -
Like most times Steph had detention, she half-heartedly tried to do some homework in silence for an hour. Although this time there was a bit of frustration, she was in detention with someone she knew was smart enough to help her, but there was no talking aloud. So after struggling on a pre-calculus worksheet for an hour she went home and braced for the inevitable lecture she was about to get from her dad.
While driving Steph thought about how it was her fault that Peter got dragged into detention, how Peter was probably mad at her, and how the rest of the nerds would feel after learning about what happened. But it would hopefully be fine in the end. Steph just had to remind herself that Peter was a good guy who wouldn’t hold this against her forever. Steph made a plan to get on Discord as soon as she got home to apologize and explain herself to Peter. After she dealt with dad’s zillionth lecture about improving her grades or else, like he actually did anything meaningful to back his claim.
- - - -
As Peter walked into the Hatchetfield public library, he made his way to the tables in the back corner where he, Richie and Ruth always worked on projects together. As he got closer he was able to hear a conversation the two of them were having.
“Ug, why won’t Grace get the idea that being in yearbook together for four years doesn't automatically mean I’m going to help her get homecoming canceled?”
“Speaking of Grace, I overheard Max talking with her earlier. I think he was trying to flirt with her?”
“Why would the guy who gave me a flick-it-ticket this morning want to flirt with the biggest prude in town.”
“I have no fucking clue, and it seems like Grace was just as confused.”
As Peter sat down in a chair between the two of them he said, “Hey guys I’m finally here, now we can really get started on this project.”
Richie turned to Peter, “Hey, how was detention?”
“Not that bad, just doing homework in silence for an hour.”
“Still surprised you tried to help Steph cheat.”
With a mischievous smile Ruth asked Peter, “It's because you like her, don't you?”
Peter sputtered out, “What?! No! I just- I don't know- Look I thought I wouldn't get caught. Does it matter why I did it?”
Richie spoke up, “Look Pete, we're all happy to have Steph as a friend. But we agreed to keep that fact on the down low at school. You helping Steph cheat could cause people to ask questions.”
“Don't worry, Steph said that if anyone asks she'll say I was just the closest person and thus the most convenient.”
At that point Peter's cell phone began to ring. After being chastised for not turning it off in the library Peter checked the caller ID to see who was calling. It wasn't a number he recognized, but it had the local area code. So he figured it was probably someone he knew and answered.
“Hello? Who is this?”
“Hey Pete, it's Steph calling from a pay phone.”
“Oh, hey Steph. Why are you calling me from a pay phone?”
“My dad took my phone away as punishment for trying to cheat and I won't get it back until I can improve my grades.”
“Oh I'm sorry to hear that.”
“I'm sorry that you got detention because of me.”
“Like I said earlier, I'm always happy to help when I can. So let's just try to avoid cheating and getting detention again, okay?”
“If that's the case, I was wondering if you could meet up with me here at Pasquale's to help me study.”
“Wait, you want me to meet you at Pasquale's to study together?”
At the mention of Pasquale's Richie and Ruth rushed over to Peter and started trying to listen in on the conversation.
Steph continued on her end of the call. “Yeah, their breadsticks are really good. So you wanna come and lend those smarts of yours?”
Ruth stood there with her jaw wide open in shock while Richie practically shouted, “Oh my god! Oh my god, say yes! Say yes!”
Peter quickly said, “Could you hold on for a second, Steph?” over the phone before covering it and turning to the two friends in his face trying to listen into the phone call to ask, “What is wrong with you two? Richie, you just told me to keep our friendship with Steph on the down low.”
“That was before Pasquale's. That's where all the cool kids go before homecoming. Ruth might be right, and she's asking you out on a date! A date!”
Ruth finally picked her jaw off the floor to say, “And think about last week she joked about being the smartest of the popular kids, so she can't ask any of them for help. She needs you Pete. Like Princess Leia, you're her only hope.”
Richie rolled his eyes. “Really Ruth? A Star Wars analogy? Need I go into why Attack on Titan is super in every possible way?”
Frustrated Peter shouted at both of them to, “Shut the fuck up!”
This was overheard by Steph who asked, “Excuse me?”
Peter quickly put his phone back to his ear to say, “Uh, not you. Just these two fucking nerds that won't leave me alone.”
“Well could you ditch those nerds and help me out?”
Peter put his hand over his phone again to ask both of his friends, “You guys wouldn't mind starting on the physics project without me, right?”
Ruth quickly answered, “Absolutely! Go have your study date and maybe with some luck, who knows what will happen next. After all they don't call it a cram session for nothing.”
“Gross. Richie, how about you?”
Richie thought for a second then answered, “Pete, you've been given an incredible opportunity. An opportunity to go on a study date with someone who already knows about everything. This may never happen again. Destiny knocks but once, and yours is Stephanie Lauter. You lucky son of a bitch!”
Peter thought about it for a second. Was he about to go on a study date with Steph? Sure he thought Steph was pretty, but everyone did. Sure they’d been friends for a couple months by now, but did she see anything other than a friend when she looked at him? Sure Steph wanted to meet up at Pasquale’s, but maybe that was just her favorite study place?
Eventually Peter put the phone back up to his ear and said, “Steph, I’ll be there in twenty minutes."
Peter figured if it wasn’t a study date, Steph was still his friend. He always helped Richie and Ruth when they needed it, so it would be rude to not extend that same kindness to Steph. And if it was a study date, well, he hoped his friends were right.
- - - -
As Steph sat in a small booth waiting for Peter to show up she decided to get started by catching up on reading To Kill a Mockingbird, as that was something she could do on her own. While munching the complimentary breadsticks she caught up to where she should be in the book, and then she checked the time on the clock on the wall. It had been about twenty five minutes since she called Peter
“Weird.” Steph thought to herself, “Peter is usually on time for just about everything.”
But Steph wasn’t too worried at this point. Maybe he had just grabbed a few things at home first. Or maybe he was just stuck in traffic. Whatever the reason was Steph didn’t mind.
A waiter came up to Steph and asked if she was ready to order. She told him she was still waiting for someone. The waiter asked if she needed more water or bread, to which she said yes. Because Pasquale's often catered for her dad’s dinner parties, Steph knew the owner and a few of the workers. This combined with the fact that Steph wasn’t rude to the wait staff meant that no one minded Steph taking up a table on a slow Thursday night, not ordering anything.
After thirty five minutes Steph was starting to worry a little. She told a waiter she was going to step outside for a minute, then went to the phone booth to call Peter and ask where he was. When the call went to voice mail, Steph started to worry a bit more. But she kept telling herself it was fine. Maybe his phone was just dead and he would show up any minute now with a story of why he was late. Whatever the reason it was probably fine.
So she went back inside and kept on waiting, and waiting. Then the clock read five forty-five, an hour since Steph had called Peter. At this point Steph just accepted that Peter wasn’t going to show up. Steph ordered her usual, chicken parmesan with extra tomato sauce, and ate her dinner alone. After she was done Steph studied a little on her own out of sheer boredom, but she didn’t get much done. Aside from all the usual reasons, she couldn’t stop thinking about Peter. Why did he say he would show up and then not? Why couldn’t she reach him when trying to call him a second time? Was he in real trouble?
But then Steph realized it was probably nothing too serious. Peter was smart and strong, he could handle himself. And if there was something really bad going on, Richie and or Ruth would probably run in to tell her and ask for help. And sense that wasn’t happening it was probably fine, right?
Notes:
Turns out I did finish this chapter before I went and saw TGWDLM:R, by a little less then a day. Any way I hoped you enjoyed this chapter. Now I'm going to go pack, I can't wait to be among my people tomorrow night.
Chapter 19: A "Foolproof" Plan
Summary:
After the Pasquale's incident, Grace insist that she has the answer to their problems.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
As Steph walked into school she began looking for Peter hoping to talk to him and ask what happened last night. But instead she ran into Brenda and Stacy who quickly waved Steph over to join them.
Steph smiled and said, “Morning, anything on social media I missed last night.”
Stacy answered back, “Not really just all of our reactions to the news that your phone was taken away.”
Brenda chimed in asking, “By the way what were you doing last night?”
Steph sighed “Well, sense I need to improve my grades to get my phone back I tried asking a nerd to help me study at Pasquale’s. He said he’d be there in twenty minutes, and he never showed. I was waiting there all night, so I ended up studying out of sheer boredom.”
Stacy had an expression of horror and disgust, all she could say was, “Ew.”
Brenda, who had more to say, told Steph, “Well, maybe you scared him off Steph. Pasquale’s? You save that place for like the fifth date.”
Stacy, now smiling again, added, “That’s where you go before the first blowie. Everybody knows that!”
Steph decided to just ignore that comment as Brenda continued. “And he still stood you up? Girl! That must be so embarrassing for you.”
Steph, who was now feeling a little annoyed, told her friend, “It wasn’t a date, Brenda.”
“Sure Steph, keep telling yourself that. Who is this guy anyway? Standing up to the mayor's daughter like he’s got no fucks to give? Not going to lie, that's really sexy.”
Steph softly smiled as she told them, “He’s sweet not sexy, and his name is Peter.”
Stacy and Brenda said nothing as the two of them tried to figure out who this Peter guy was. After Steph said his last name, Spankoffski, Brenda realized who Steph was talking about and shouted, “Oh my God! The kid who wore a fucking bowtie for like, ever?!”
Stacy gave Steph a concerned look as she told her, “Steph I know he’s rich, but money isn’t everything. Looks are.
Brenda then added “And like, if you’re on the football team.”
The two of them got really excited as Stacy shouted, “Oh my God! I can’t wait for the big game! Steph, you have to see the new cheer. So fab!”
But just as Stacy said that Steph caught Richie and Ruth down the hallway. Hoping that they might have some answers Steph told Stacy, “Not now, maybe later.” and caught up to the two of them.
“Hey Ruth, Richie. Have you seen Pete around? He didn’t show up last night and I wanted to know if something happened.”
The two of them gave each other and then Steph concerning looks. Like they were deciding how to deliver bad news.
Eventually Ruth said, “So, um, Peter ran into Max outside of Pasquale’s.”
Steph felt a wave of dread and guilt as Ruth continued. “Apparently even the parking lot of that place is a no nerd zone. So Max beat him up and told him to get lost.”
Steph felt awful. First she got him in trouble at school, then she invited him to a place where Max was. He probably had the worst day ever because of her.
She asked the two of them, “Where’s Pete? I need to apologize to him.”
After searching for a bit the three of them made their way to the end of the science hallway where a set of bathrooms were. As Steph slowly opened the door to ask if Peter was in there Richie tried to stop her because this was a men’s bathroom, to which Steph told him to grow up. While Ruth was busy admiring the urinals for some reason. Steph saw Peter walk out of one of the stalls with a nasty looking black eye.
Steph stood there in shock and asked, “Oh my God, Pete what did he do to you?”
Peter pointed at his black eye and said, “What? This? You should see the other guy. I think he bruised his knuckles on my face.”
Peter went up to a mirror and began using his healing magic on it but after he was done the bruise was still there.
Steph saw this and asked Peter, “Wait a minute, did he hurt you that bad?”
“What? Oh, because,” Peter pointed and the black eye that was still there. “Yeah, one time when we were freshmen Max gave Richie a nasty bruise on his jaw. After he went to school the next morning with the bruise completely gone, he just beat up Richie even more. Ever since then we just treat the pain and let Max have the satisfaction of thinking he’s hurting us.”
Steph was in shock. “Do you not hear how fucking messed up that sounds? This is all bullshit. I’m not going to let him get away with this.”
“Steph, if you get involved things will probably only get worse. I thought we agreed not to make it obvious we're all friends at school.”
“Who does Max think he is? My dad? What a fucking psycho! I’m sorry Pete, but I’m going to the principal with this. This is too much for me to just sit back and watch.”
As Steph started to walk out of the bathroom Richie stopped her. “Ha! This is Max Jagerman, the quarterback of the Hatchetfield Nighthawks. If you think the principal cares more about us then the outcome of the big game, then you are willfully naive.”
To which Ruth solemnly added, "Welcome to the other side of cool kid privilege Steph.”
But Steph wouldn’t back down. “Well we have to do something.”
Richie asked, “And what would that be Steph?”
Steph tried to think of something but then, from seemingly nowhere, Grace burst into the bathroom declaring, “We destroy him!”
Frustrated Steph told her, “Oh my God, butt out Chastity! This is none of your business!"
Unfazed Grace continued. “Oh, it very much is my business. And not just because I’m a hall monitor and there are two girls in a boys bathroom.” Grace then pulled two slips of paper and handed them to Steph and Ruth. “Detention for both of you.”
Steph looked at the detention slip in her hand and said, “God, you suck Grace.”
Grace ignored Steph’s comment and continued. “Max Jagerman has made all our lives a living heck. He’s more than a boy, he's an idea. One that strikes fear in the hearts of the meek. And lust in the souls of the innocent. We must strip him of his power and leave him helpless at our feet.”
After that little speech, Peter asked, “How do you plan on doing that?”
To which Grace smiled and answered, “With a little faith in the Father, Son, and some holy ghosts. Everyone meet me outside my house at seven. I got a plan.”
- - - -
After Steph and Ruth were finished with detention they went over to Peter’s place to wait for this meeting with Grace. As soon as the two of them stepped inside Peter told them what they’d missed.
“Okay, so Grace, Richie and I have been texting each other. He’s just going to walk over there since he’s just a block away and I’ll give us three a ride in my parent’s van. Both my parents will be at work until eight-ish so we have the house to ourselves until we meet up.”
Ruth asked, “Has Grace said what this plan of hers is?”
“Nope.”
Then Steph asked, “So we're just going through with this?”
Peter turned to Steph and asked, “Do you have any other ideas?”
Steph sighed and answered, “Not really.”
“At the very least let’s give her idea a shot.”
“Fine. In that case we got a few hours to kill, are you still up to helping me study since you couldn’t make it last night?”
Before Peter could say anything Ruth answered, “We would be happy to help you out. I’ll get everything set up and ready on the kitchen table.”
Ruth raced out of the living room to the dining room leaving Peter and Steph in the dust. The two of them shared a look and walked into the dining room to accept their fates.
- - - -
As Peter rounded the corner he saw Grace and Richie sitting on the front steps of the Chasity home. As he parked the van on the curb Grace and Richie got up and walked towards the car.
Steph, who was riding shotgun, rolled down the window to talk to Grace. “So can you tell us what exactly we're going to do about Max tonight?”
Grace put some stuff in the trunk of the van then opened a passenger door, hopped into the back of the van along Richie taking a seat behind Steph, and told her, “I’ll explain when we get there.”
After driving for a few minutes Grace told Peter to turn on to Hickory road, which caused him to ask, “Grace, are we going where I think we're going?”
“What else is down this road?”
Steph looked over at Peter who was now wearing an expression of fear. She quietly asked him if he was okay. But Peter didn’t say anything, he kept driving down the road.
Soon Grace pointed down the road and said, “There! Park down over there.”
Peter parked the van on the curb not too far away from a big Victorian Gothic style house. That’s when Steph realized where Grace had brought them, the old Waylon place.
As Grace got out of the van to get her things from the trunk Steph turned to Peter and asked, “Hey Pete, you doing ok?”
“No I’m not!”
That’s when Ruth leaned forward from her seat to talk. “Remember the Queen in White we talked about that night in the cave?”
Steph thought for a second and answered, “Um, yeah. Why?”
Then Richie joined the conversation too. “She rarely gives us straight answers but one of the few things she was clear about was avoiding the Waylon place.”
Steph was confused. “Why?”
Just then Grace knocked on a van window and said loud enough for Steph to hear, “Come on everyone. Follow me and I’ll explain my plan.”
As the four of them got out of the car Peter stayed behind to manually lock the old van, so Steph stayed behind to talk some more.
“What were you guys trying to say earlier?”
“Right. She said that the Waylons used to worship her evil brothers. So she told us to stay away.”
“Did she ever give more of an explanation?"
“Just that her brothers cursed this place. What that curse is, I have no idea. But if it's anything like the curse they gave to her followers in the beginning, then it’s probably not pretty.”
“Right, the wolf part of your powers was originally a curse she was able to weaken or do something to make it not as shitty.”
“God I hope the curse is just making this place extra spooky for dramatic purposes.”
Then suddenly Grace shouted, “Hey what are you two waiting for? Get over here!”
Steph and Peter quickly caught up with the rest of them as Grace opened the front door and everyone walked inside.
As to be expected the place was dark, dusty, and very creepy. As everyone who had a phone turned on their flashlight, Grace began her explanation.
“The house was built in nineteen ten by Mathias and Agatha Waylon. Wealthy, Eccentric. They went on to build the town’s most important landmarks, like The Starlight Theater, the original Hatchetfield Gazette building, even the old schoolhouse that would one day become Hatchetfield Highschool. They took a backwater logging town and turned it into their own personal paradise, where they were free to indulge in their eclectic interests.”
Peter asked, “What are you talking about?” Trying to hide that he knew exactly what Grace was alluding to.
“According to local legends, satanism. There are stories involving every evil group cliche you can think of. Human sacrifices! Demonic rituals! Sex magic!”
At that last bit Ruth began to smile, only for Richie to smack her on the back of the head. Reminding her how bad this place was.
Grace continued. “Eventually the people of Hatchetfield got fed up with this cult. An angry mob burst through those doors and found the Waylons and their followers and hacked them to bloody bits. But as they say, nothing really dies in the Waylon place. Their angry spirits still haunt these halls to this very day. And when Max comes in contact with these supposed ghosts, we’re going to film the whole thing. We’re going to post a video of him crying for his mommy, wetting himself with fear. Then he will cease to be the most terrifying, hottest bully in Hatchetfield. He will forever be known as hashtag potty pants.”
Ignoring the ridiculous plan Grace had just laid out and focusing on the last part Steph asked, “Potty pants? How about pissy pants?”
Grace answered, “I’m not comfortable with the plan if it involves that kind of language.”
Peter blurted out, “I’m not comfortable with this place. Because, uh, the floor doesn’t feel structurally sound.”
He then put his foot on a floor board which made a squeak after he put his body weight on it. Steph figured Peter was trying to get out of this house, so she tried to help in a more direct way. “Why do we all have to be here? Can’t we-”
But Grace cut her off. “Because, Peter will scare Max in an old costume I have in my bag, Richie will record the video, Ruth will run effects and be plan B if Peter isn’t enough, and Steph you’ll be the bait for this trap. You’ll tell Max that there’s something really fun happening at the Waylon place. Something he wouldn’t want to miss, like a bible study.”
Still trying to get her friends out of this place Steph said, “But I can't do that without my phone.”
Grace was quick to respond, “Just use my phone. Trust me guys, we can do this! We can put Max in his place! We can bully the bully! Now, Richie, Ruth, help me set up the speakers for this prank.”
As Grace grabbed the two of them and dragged them to another room upstairs Steph turned to Peter.
“Hey Pete, I’m worried something bad might happen.”
“No shit Sherlock! We’ve been roped into a dumb prank in a literally cured house.”
“And, well, another reason that sounds crazy.”
“I’m a magic werewolf, try me”
“Well, earlier today…”
- - - -
As Steph sat in woodshop class sanding down a wooden picture frame she was making, she had time to think about what Grace had said in the boys bathroom. Asking herself what kind of crazy plan was Grace cooking up? Why did Grace insist on being the solution to their problem?
As she did, she heard a quiet voice to the side of her. Steph turned to see Hannah, the girl she had talked to on the first day of school standing next to her.
Steph stopped what she was doing, “Oh, sorry didn’t notice you there. What is it?”
“Are you done with that saw?”
Steph turned back to her desk and picked up the small handsaw she had used earlier. She turned back to Hannah with it in her hand to give it to her, “Yes. Here you go.”
But Hannah didn’t take it, instead she was staring off into space. Steph just sat there confused as Hannah started saying random words.
“Bully the bully. The nicest thing. Old floor boards. Only saved if friends act fast.”
“Uh, Hannah was it? Are you okay?”
Hannah looked directly at Steph, out of whatever trance she was in.
“Webby tells me things sometimes. Usually warnings. It sounds weird, but it’s normal for me.”
“Who’s… Wait, didn’t you say you had an imaginary friend? Is that her name, Webby?”
“Yes,” Hannah took the saw from Steph’s hand, “Thank you.”
Hannah sat back down at her table, but didn’t really do anything.
Concerned Steph asked, “Is everything okay kid?”
Hannah looked at her with a surprised and confused expression. “You’re not going to make fun of me?”
“Uh, why would I do that?”
“Because I talk with Webby and zone out when she sends me warnings.”
“Well I don’t think that’s something worth making fun of.”
Hannah smiled softly, said, “Thank you,” then turned to continue working on her project.
Still a little confused but deciding it wasn’t worth too much though right now, Steph also turned back to her work.
Notes:
Things are already a little different then how you probably remember. But how different can they get?
Next chapter will include one of the story beats I had settled on in the beginning, so I'm looking forward to writing it.
Chapter 20: And Max came Tumbling After
Summary:
Everyone tries to prank Max and things don't quite go according to plan.
Notes:
Sorry I thought this would come out a bit sooner but a lot happens in this one, and it has one of the plot points I worked out from the beginning so I wanted to get it right. On the plus side, you all get an extra long chapter. Hope you enjoy it.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
As Steph finished her story, Peter’s mind was racing. “So let me get this straight Steph. There's this girl named Hannah in your woodshop class who has an imaginary friend named Webby. According to Hannah, Webby will warn her about stuff sometimes. And today Webby’s warning included the exact term Grace just used.”
“Yeah. I know it sounds nuts. But I'm telling the truth.”
“I believe you. It's just, this raises a lot of questions. Is this all a huge coincidence or not? If it's not a coincidence, does this mean that there's more people with powers? Who's this Webby person? And why does it seem like that warning was more for you than Hannah?”
“I don't know Pete. After we're done with Grace's prank let's talk about this with Richie and Ruth. Try to come up with a plan or something.”
Just then the two of them heard Grace shouting from upstairs. “Peter! Steph! Get on up here!”
The two of them made it up the stairs to the second floor. Once they got up there they saw Ruth in a large room with a bunch of shelves, probably the library, hiding a small speaker. They saw Richie in a room across the hall, sitting on the edge of a fireplace messing with a video camera. And they saw Grace in the same room as Richie, crouching down to dig through her backpack on the ground. Grace pulled out an old looking coat and shirt from her backpack then walked over to Peter and handed them to him.
“Here's your ghost costume Pete. There should be a bunch of bedrooms down the hall to get changed in.”
As Steph followed Peter down the hall, Grace called out, “Steph, stay here. We still need you to invite Max here.”
So Steph walked into the room with Richie and Grace while Peter walked down the hall to find a room to change in. The next room down the hall had a door. Peter turned the knob and it opened to a featureless room with peeling wallpaper. He walked in, put his phone down leaning against the wall so the flashlight was still providing light, and closed the door behind him.
Peter looked over the clothes Grace had just given him. First a ruffle under shirt with a bunch of frills that went with a grayish cream coat with strips of cloth attached to the sleeves. Looking at it it kinda looked like that outfit Ron wore to the Yule Ball or something a founding father would wear. Peter realized the ruffle shirt was too small for him so he just put the jacket on over his normal clothes.
Peter walked out of the room he was in and back into the room where Steph, Richie, and Grace were in earlier, but only Richie was still there.
Peter walked up to his friend and asked, “Richie be honest with me. Am I reading as ghost or Lin-Manuel Miranda?”
“You kind of look like that homeless guy from downtown. But that could still work, he gets pretty scary sometimes.”
Just then Ruth and Steph walked over as Ruth said, “Well if you ask me Pete, you’re reading as the ghost of Alexander Hamilton.”
Steph, who didn’t overhear Richie and Peter’s conversation and was a bit confused said, “Anyway, to tell you two what I told Ruth and Grace, I texted Max that a party was happening here that’s about to get started. Max said that he’ll be here as soon as he can.”
Peter sighed. “So I guess we're really doing this, huh.”
Steph turned to Richie and Ruth. “By the way Pete gave me a quick explanation on why you three don’t want to be here. Will you guys be okay?”
Richie answered first. “I guess? The fact that people like Mr. Chasity and safety inspectors have been in and out of this house and nothing bad happened to them make me hope that this curse won't bother us.”
Ruth then said, “Maybe like our curse it’s only a problem on nights of the full moon?”
Richie nodded. “Yeah, yeah. Let’s go with that. Everything will be fine.”
Steph could tell by the tone of their voices, those two were not fine.
“Look, I’m still relatively new to this whole magic stuff. So I don’t fully understand everything going on. But I understand people hiding how they feel to save face. So if you guys are scared you can just tell me.”
Richie blurted out, “Then, holy shit! I’m so stressed right now!”
Followed by Ruth shouting. “God my fucking rainforest pits are soaked!”
That’s when Grace walked in and said, “Could you two please watch your language and be quiet? Ghosts aren't actually real. Remember to keep your beans cool. Now Peter I also have this hat and wig for your costume. Ruth, here's a skeleton costume for you to change into in case Pete isn’t enough. Richie, come with me downstairs on lookout to film Max’s approach to the house. And Steph, find something to make yourself useful.”
She then handed everyone walkie-talkies. “I’ll let you guys know when Max gets here.” With that Grace made her way back down the stairs.
Richie looked around at everyone, sighed and said, “Well, let’s just get this over with.” He then stood up and made his way down stairs.
Ruth looked at the costume Grace handed to her. “This is just a onesie and a plastic mask. How is this supposed to scare Max?”
Peter shrugged. “I don’t know? There’s an empty room down the hallway to change in. I left the door ajar.”
As Ruth left Peter put on the wig and hat, and took off his glasses. He pulled up his phone’s camera to get a good look at his outfit.
He asked Steph, “Think this looks kind of ghostly?”
Steph walked in front of him to get a better look. “I guess? Remind me, are you near sighted or far sighted? And how much can you see without your glasses.”
“I’m near sighted. I can still kinda get away with reading books without glasses, but anything farther than a couple feet is just a colorful blob. I can still walk around without them, but do not let me drive without them. Plus even without them, my enhanced senses help me a little bit when it’s dark. I should be fine.”
“Dumb question, but how well can you see in wolf form?”
“If I transform with my glasses on, I can see perfectly fine. If I transform with them off, my vision still sucks. I don’t entirely get how it works either.”
“Huh, good to know. Now I know you don't want to completely heal that black eye but I was hoping you'd let me cover it up with some makeup so Max will be less likely to recognize you.”
“Oh um, sure.”
Steph pulled a makeup back out of her backpack and pulled out some liquid foundation and a fresh application sponge.
“Now Pete, since I don't have magic eyes like you, could you please do me a favor and hold your phone so I can see better?”
“You got it.”
As Peter sat there providing light so Steph could see as she was applying makeup, he got to thinking. But it wasn't the understandable downward spiral of panic over being in a cursed house, or the plan to stop the monster that is Max Jagerman, or the warning of an odd kid who might have prophecy powers, or how he still hasn't started his part of that physics project yet. Instead he thought about the girl in front of him.
The girl who started off as just a popular classmate he ran into one fateful night, was now an amazing friend willing to help him and his other friends with this crazy plan. Who actually liked his nerdy qualities and wanted to hang out with him and the rest of his friends. Who invented him to Pasquale's for a study date. That's when Peter realized Richie, Ruth and him never figured out if that was supposed to be a study date or just a normal study session.
So Peter took a deep breath and nervously asked, “By the way Steph. I was just curious, was last night at Pasquale's supposed to be a normal study session or something else?”
Steph paused her work with a thoughtful yet confused look on her face.
“What else could it have been?”
“Oh, I don't know. Richie and Ruth thought it could have been something like a study date?”
Steph looked surprised for a brief second before it turned into a sheepish smile.
“It wasn't a date Peter. It was just a study session at one of my favorite places in town. Besides, everyone knows I only go on dates with people who already asked me out first.”
“Oh, okay. Got it. Glad we could clear that up.”
“You’re not upset or anything, right?”
“Oh, not at all. Just wanted to make sure.”
After sitting in a slightly awkward silence for a moment Steph blurted, “I'm going to try adding some eye liner and eye shadow to help sell the look. You cool with that?”
“Yeah, yeah. I trust you to know what you're doing.”
As Steph continued to apply makeup, Peter continued to think. Knowing that Steph didn’t plan last night as a date should have made him feel relief. But for some strange reason he had this quiet feeling of disappointment in his gut. Peter began to wonder why he was feeling this way. Sure Steph had become a really good friend over the past two months or so since the beginning of camp, but he didn’t see her like that. Did he? Besides, even if he did, he couldn’t just ask her out. Max would never allow it. But the whole point of the prank was to try and reduce some of his power.
Steph finished up and said, “That should do the trick, what do you think?”
Peter turned his phone and saw that his black eye was barely noticeable and the eye liner combined with dark eyeshadow created a sunken eye look. Which is what Steph was probably going for.
Peter turned to Steph. “I think it looks good.”
“Thanks.”
As Steph put the makeup away Peter began to fidget as he debated whether or not to ask. Eventually he decided to just go for it.
“Hey Steph, I was wondering if you would you ever-”
But just then Grace’s voice could be heard coming from the walkie-talkie Steph was given.
“All right everyone! Get to your post, Max Jagerman is coming up the walk way! Operation potty pants is about to commence!”
Well, asking that question would have to wait. Peter made his way to what was presumably the master bedroom around the corner, Steph stayed in that room to watch, and Ruth made her way to the library. As Peter waited for his cue he could hear Max coming up the stairs as Ruth turned on the sound effects.
Peter then heard Max say, “Oh shit! Where’s that creepy music coming from? What kind of party is this?”
Max slowly made his way down the hall as he shouted “Steph? Kyle? Brenda? If you guys are going to surprise me, do it al-fuckin’-ready! I gotta take a piss!”
That’s when Peter made his move. With his best spooky voice Peter called out Max’s name. Max stopped in his tracks and asked, “Who’s there?”
Peter called out again, and Max shouted out, “What?!”
Peter walked out of the room to find Max, holding a case of beer in one hand and a can of beer in the other, facing away from him as he declared, “You have disturbed the spirits of Waylon Hall!”
Max slowly turned around as Peter continued, “Now your soul shall be ours!”
Max stepped back in fear shouting, “Oh fuck, it’s a fucking ghost!”
Peter could hear someone walking around as he heard Richie say, “This is awesome Grace. It’s working!”
Peter was able to catch Richie heading into the room Steph was still in as Max continued to freak out.
“I always knew you fuckers were real! I’ve been scared of you my whole life!”
Peter was starting to feel like they might pull this off. Then Max got a serious look on his face as he shouted, “But it’s time to stop running.”
Peter's stomach sank as Max chugged the beer left in the can, crush said can against his head and shouted, “Float over here ghost! I'm gonna kick your fucking ass!”
As Peter was trying to keep his cool he could see Richie and Steph peek their heads out of the room they were in as Richie spoke into the walkie-talkie.
“Um Grace, we got a problem.”
Grace's voice could be heard from the walkie-talkie asking, “What? Is he not buying it?
“No, he thinks the ghost is real. He's just really fucking brave.”
Trying to save the prank Peter told Max, “You can't fight me. I'm an ethereal being. So…”
As he trailed off Peter could see in Max's eyes, that rage Peter had a hundred times before. Peter knew he was fucked.
So when Max shouted, “We'll see about that! I'm going to make you say boo-hoo, bitch!” and charged towards him, Peter's legs thought faster than his mind.
He ran around the corner and partially down a smaller set of stairs, just enough to get out of Max’s line of sight. After catching his breath, Peter sat on the steps and buried his head in his hands. Wondering why he ran away. Max thought he was a ghost, he could have tried to beat him up no holding back. But all the strength in the world wouldn’t break eight years of habit. Besides, at the end of the day Peter didn’t have it in his heart to beat the shit out of someone, even someone like Max did.
From his hiding place Peter could hear Max shout, “Yes! I make the dead run in fear! I am Jagerman! I am a God! Go Nighthawks!”
From down the hall Peter could barely make out Richie say, “The ghost ran! Send in the skeleton!”
Peter could hear a weird shriek, probably from Ruth. Peter then poked his head out to see what was happening.
Max got another frightened look on his face as he shouted, “Oh shit! Oh fuck! I didn’t think there'd be a skeleton here! I’m so fucking scared of skeletons! Maybe I should just run!”
Max then turned to face a random wall for some reason as he seemingly started arguing with himself. Saying, “Where Max? Back home so dad can call you a little cuck? Can’t even fight off one lousy skeleton? No. I’ve got no choice.”
Max then turned back down the hallway and shouted, “Hey Skeleton! I got a bone to pick with you, bitch! Come here!”
Max ran down the hallway as Peter got out of this hiding spot and followed worried about his friend. He poked his head around the corner to find Max grabbing Ruth by the collar and Richie still in that one room trying to record some footage with Steph who practically shouted into her walkie-talkie, “Grace, we gotta abort the plan! It’s not working!”
He could then hear Grace say from wherever she was hiding, “It’s working for me. He’s so violent!”
Steph then jumped out into the hallway shouting, “Max, stop!” causing Max to let go of Ruth who ran away.
Max turned to Steph saying, “Steph, we can’t have a party here. This place is hella haunted. Get behind me! I’ll protect you!” as took a defensive stance in front of her.
Steph and Peter then made eye contact with each other. Steph waved Peter over as she told Max, “No! It’s not real, stupid!”
Peter ran out into the open and put his glasses back on as Steph explained, “It’s not a ghost. It’s Peter Spankoffski.”
Soon everyone else slowly made their way out of their hiding places as Steph continued.
“It was all a prank, a trick to scare the shit out of you, cause you deserve it.”
Max looked around at everyone with a look of bewilderment as he asked, “What? You’re telling me you nerds put this whole thing together just for me?”
They all just stood there awkwardly as Richie and Ruth slowly nodded.
Max thought for a second before saying, “Wow. I thought you guys hated me.”
Everyone else was suddenly really confused as Max continued, “But thanks. This was really great.”
Thoroughly confused Peter asked, “You’re not pissed?”
Max started smiling with excitement as he said, “Oh! Are you kidding! No, no, no, this is like the nicest thing anyone’s ever done for me!”
While Richie, Ruth, and Grace felt a slight sense of pity after hearing that. Steph and Peter looked at each other with a twinge of panic. Both simultaneously thinking, “Wasn’t that part of Hannah’s waning?”
Peter barely noticed Max running past him to the spot he was standing earlier as Max began complementing his and Ruth’s performances, he was too busy worrying to pay attention. Peter only snapped out of it when he heard a quiet but concerning snap coming from the floor right below where Max was standing. A snap Richie and Ruth heard too.
As Max continued with his little speech saying, “I thought you guys were a bunch of fucking nerds. But you guys through one hell of a-” Peter, Richie, and Ruth could hear the floorboards underneath him begging to fail.
Again Peter’s legs worked faster than his mind, but this time he ran towards Max as there was a loud snap that even Steph and Grace could hear. Without thinking Peter tackled Max just as the floor boards gave out and Max began to fall. But instead of falling through the floor Max just got his lower leg scratched up from the broken wood as he fell over from the tackle. Both Peter and Max landed with a thud as Richie and Ruth ran over to check they were all right.
After recovering from hitting the ground Max turned to Peter who was laying behind him and began shouting, “What the fuck is wrong with you Spankoffski! Why-” but then as he sat up he noticed the hole in the floor.
Max pointed at the hole. “That’s where I was standing.”
Max slowly stood up trying not to wince from the pain coming from his leg and looked down into the hole everyone was now looking into. And they all saw a smaller hole in the lower floor boards revealing the first floor.
Still staring down Max quietly said, “Holy shit, I could have fell all the way through.”
Before suddenly shouting “Holy Shit! I could have fucking died! We need to get out of this place!”
Max started running as fast as he could with a bad leg down the hallway and down the stairs. He didn’t even bother picking up the case of beer he brought. Everyone else followed him downstairs and out the door into the front yard where Max was sitting on a stump catching his breath.
Steph approached Max and asked, “Hey, are you okay?”
Max took in another breath and answered, “Yeah, I will be once I get home and bandage my leg up.”
Steph then said, “Oh, I think Grace has some first aid stuff in her backpack. Grace, do you feel comfortable going back inside to get it.”
Grace stood there for a moment still trying to process the past minute before responding, “What? Oh yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ll go get it.”
As Grace left Max turned to face Peter and said, “Thanks for saving me.”
Peter was shocked, not only did he just save Max from serious injury and maybe death, but Max was thanking him. So all Peter could say back, “Uh, yeah.”
Max continued, "Seriously that was an impressive tackle. It takes a lot to take down the Jagermister. Why did you waste school on all that nerd shit when you could have contributed that tackle to the football team.”
Peter quickly answered, “Oh that was probably just adrenalin.”
“Well whatever the reason, thanks.”
Grace came back outside with her backpack on her back and her first aid kit all ready in her hand. “So all I have at the moment are band-aids for small cuts and scrapes. How bad is it?”
Max rolled up his pants leg to reveal a few decent scratches that were starting to bleed. Steph leaned over to Peter and whispered, “Do your thing or not risk it?”
Peter thought for a moment then whispered back, “I got an idea.”
Peter then walked to Grace and said, “Hey Grace, Richie, Ruth and I all have first aid training and I might have better bandages in my backpack. I know you just went inside but could you please go back and get all our stuff?”
“Uh sure. I can do that.”
Richie turned towards Peter and whispered, “Are you about to try and do what I think you’re about to try and do.”
Peter nodded and Richie whispered back, “Risk it? For him?”
Peter shrugged, “It just feels like the right thing to do.”
“Fine. You and Steph distract him. I’m the quickest out of the three of us.”
Peter turned back to Max. “Now Max, Richie’s going to get a good look at your leg to assess the damage. It would help if you talked with me and Steph while he did it.”
As they walked over Ruth realized what was going on. She turned on her phone’s flashlight as if she was providing light for Richie but it was actually to try and hide the glow of the healing magic. As Richie and Ruth crouched down in front of Max, Steph and Peter stood right beside Max to distract him.
As Richie got started Steph told Max, “Trust me, I sprained my ankle one time and they did such a good job I could barely feel a thing. So don’t worry you’re in good hands.”
Richie then stood up and told everyone, “Good news, Max barely got scratched up.”
Max pushed Steph and Peter to the side to get a real go look at his leg which still had a little blood on it, but no obvious scratches.
Max smiled, turned back towards the Waylon house and shouted, “You hear that you fucking stupid house! You’re going to have to try harder than that to hurt the Jagermister!”
Max then turned back to Richie. “Thanks man.” He then noticed the camera Richie had been holding and asked, “Hey, is that a camera? Were you filming the party to post a video later?”
“Oh, um, maybe if-”
Max cut Richie off, “Give me that. I gotta tell everyone how awesome this was.”
“Oh, uh, just stand there and I’ll record you.”
As Richie recorded Max, Steph pulled out the walkie-talkie she still had and used it to try and talk to Grace inside.
“Hey Grace can ya hear me?”
After a moment Grace answered back, “Loud and clear what is it?”
“False alarm on the bandages. Max actually wasn’t hurt that bad. While you’re in there could you get everything we brought?”
“Sure, I was going to do that anyway eventually.”
Steph put her walkie-talkie back in her pocket as Max continued to tell the camera the tale of the best prank ever. She turned towards Peter.
“I think Hannah and this Webby person is legit. ‘Bully the Bully. The nicest thing. Old floor boards. Only saved if friends act fast.’ She hit the nail on the head.”
“Right! We need to figure this out. It seems like she was trying to help us, so hopefully we can all work this out.”
Eventually Grace cleaned out the house, including the beer upon much pleading from Max and point about leaving no evidence that people were here recently from Richie, and relocked the front door. Once everyone was back together in the front yard Max turned to everyone to ask, “So was that the whole party or do you all want to keep going?”
Grace spoke up first, “Yeah we didn’t have a plan B if the prank went wrong.”
Max asked, “You mean the floor braking?”
Grace answered back, “Uh, yeah. Let’s go with that. Plus, I have to get home before nine-thirty to get to bed on time. So let’s just call it a night now.”
Max looked a little disappointed, “Damn, swiped this beer for nothing. Well there’s always another party.”
Max grabbed the beer case and started walking towards the road as he called out, “See you nerds later! And Richie, share that video with me when you upload it. I wanna see how it turns out.”
Steph called out to Max, “You wanna ride back home?”
Without turning around he shouted back, “I’m good.”
With that Max walked down the street into the night.
Notes:
And thus, the first major change has occurred as Max survives the Waylon house. Next chapter will follow everyone else as they prosses what just happened.
Chapter 21: Why is this so difficult?!
Summary:
After the Waylon house "party" everyone heads home. Steph and the nerds talk about what they should do about Hannah's warning coming true. Then Grace, Peter, and Steph individually freakout over different stuff that just happened.
Notes:
(See the end of the chapter for notes.)
Chapter Text
Steph, Peter, Richie, Ruth, and Grace stood in the front yard of the Waylon house in disbelief. The plan to scare Max had kind of worked but mostly failed, but maybe this outcome wouldn’t be so bad. Max had complimented Peter and Ruth’s acting, directly thanked Peter and Richie, and not one punch was thrown at the three of them. Grace however was still pretty upset.
With her arms folded Grace muttered, “I can’t believe the plan failed. How are we supposed to dethrone Max now?”
Richie spoke up, “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but maybe this turn of events was for the best?”
Ruth chimed in, “It’s highly unlikely but for all we know he has a bully code like Buford so saving his life means he’ll be nice to us.”
Grace shouted back, “No! Don’t you get it! This was supposed to humiliate Max! Strip him of the title of smoking bully king!”
Steph gave Grace a look. “Grace, you've been saying weird shit like this all day. What’s going on? It’s like you're suppressing a crush on Max or something.”
Grace’s face turned bright red as she shouted, “What, are you talking about?! The only guy I have fantasies about is Jesus! Er, what I mean is, never mind! Let’s just go home!”
Grace grabbed her stuff and made a beeline for the van as everyone else just stood there.
Steph sighed and said, “That girl needs some serious help.”
Richie turned to Steph, “You have no idea. But yeah, let’s get out of here.”
As the four of them made their way to the van Peter quietly told Richie and Ruth, “By the way Steph and I need to talk to you about something after we drop off Grace. Nothing urgent, but it’s important.”
Ruth asked, "Does it involve werewolf stuff?”
“Kind of.”
“Oh boy.”
They all got into the van and Peter drove everyone back home telling Grace that he was going to drop her off first. She asked why when Ruth’s house was closer. Peter gave the excuse that Grace needed to get home sooner as she had the earliest curfew. As they pulled up in front of the Chasity home Grace grabbed her backpack and got out of the van.
But not before Steph asked, “Hey I still have your walkie-talkie. Don’t you want it back?”
Grace turned around, told Steph, “Oh they belong to Richie’s parents, not mine. See you guys on Monday.” closed the van door and walked to the side door of her house.
The four of them decided to drive around the corner to Richie's house to talk there. After going in through the backyard entrance to avoid Richie's family, Richie closed the door behind him, turned around and asked, “So Pete, Steph, what do you need to talk about.”
Steph took a deep breath and began her story.
“It all started in Woodshop class when I was talking with this girl named Hannah. According to her, she has an imaginary friend named Webby who sends her visions of warning. And while I was talking to her she said ‘Bully the Bully. The nicest thing. Old floor boards. Only saved if friends act fast.’”
Richie and Ruth stared at each other in disbelief as Steph continued.
“When I first heard her say that I just thought she was being weird. But when Grace said ‘bully the bully’ as she dragged the two of you upstairs, I realized that something was up. I told Peter about it, and we agreed to talk about it more after Grace's prank. But when all four parts of the warning came true we agreed that this definitely needed a group discussion.”
Peter then took over the explanation saying, “We still have a lot of questions about this. Do Hannah's powers have any relation to ours? Who's this Webby person and is she connected to The Pale Queen? Why would she send a vision for us? Right now I think we should find Hannah in school on Monday and just talk to her in the library or somewhere else private."
Richie ran his hand through his hair and took a deep breath as he processed the information. He asked Steph, “Do you know anything else about this Hannah kid?”
“Kind of.” Steph thought about their conversation at the beginning of the school year, trying to remember as much as she could before continuing to answer the question. “She’s a freshman, she mentioned a sibling named Lexi who took woodshop before, and she can play the ukulele. But the big things I remember were Hannah’s remark that I looked like Webby and her mentioning that Webby said I was nice.”
“Lucky!” Ruth complained, “I wish I was complimented by a magical oracle or whatever this is.”
“Regardless,” Richie said while giving Ruth a look before turning to everyone else, “I agree with Pete. So far Hannah and Webby don’t seem to have any malicious intent. And Hannah seems willing to talk about her weirdness. So hopefully she’ll be willing to answer our questions.”
Peter looked at everyone asking, “So are we all in an agreement?”
Everyone nodded so Peter responded, “Great in that case, Steph, Ruth, let’s head home.”
As everyone but Richie stood up Steph turned to Richie, “Hey before I go, I just wanted to ask if I can keep this walkie-talkie?”
“Why?”
“So I can contact you guys quickly if something happens until I get my phone back.”
“That’s not a bad idea, so yeah, sure thing. You know how they work right?”
“I think so. This button to talk, these buttons to switch between the three channels, volume control here, and the lights let you know if someone is using the channel you're on.”
“Uh yeah that’s pretty much it. Hold on.” Richie grabbed his backpack and pulled out two more walkie-talkies, giving them to Ruth and Peter. “Just in case. Also let’s have channel one be the default channel to prevent any “missed calls” okay?”
Steph nodded, “Sounds good to me. See ya.”
With that Steph, Ruth, and Peter made their way outside to the van and left.
- - - -
When Grace walked through the side door into the kitchen she caught the time on the microwave clock, nine-thirteen. This was the latest she’s ever been home but still before her bed time of nine-thirty.
Grace then heard her mother Karen call out from the living room. “Grace? Was that you?”
“Yes, I’m home!”
Karen walked into the kitchen with a slightly concerned expression on her face. “Where have you been? You're usually home from bible study by nine.”
“Well some kids from school were with me and they had a lot of questions. We all got carried away in discussion and lost track of time.”
“Oh Gracie, I love how you are always willing to help others, but you have to remember your health and to make sure you get enough sleep.”
“Of course, sorry I’m so late.”
“Well, it’s not too late. So I guess it’ll be fine just this once. Now head up stairs and get ready for bed, okay.”
“Okay, good night mom.”
“Good night Gracie.”
Grace made her way up into her room, as soon as she closed the door to her bedroom she put her back pack in her usual spot, laid down on her bed, grabbed her pillow, and screamed into it.
“Gosh darn it, what the fudge am I supposed to do now!”
Grace put the pillow back under her head and she continued talking with herself.
“You just made Max even more cool by making him face his fears. And he didn’t even realize that it was supposed to be embarrassing! All because a “party” just for him was the nicest thing any one has done for him. Which is a little sad, but that’s besides the point. Maybe Richie could edit the footage in just the right way? No, there wasn’t any crying or anything like that. Augh… why is this so difficult?!”
As Grace got ready for bed she kept trying to think of more ideas on how to deal with Max, but nothing she came up with was realistically achievable or affordable. Right before she went to bed, Grace knelt down and prayed. Within her prayer she asked for help in overcoming this temptation and answers to this problem with Max.
As Grace finished her prayer she waited for a bit to see if she’d get an answer right away. But she didn’t, she never really did. So Grace climbed into bed hoping that she just needed to sleep on it, and the answers would come in the morning.
- - - -
After already dropping off Ruth, Peter returned to his parents house where Steph’s car was still parked since she drove herself here after school. Peter pulled on to the driveway but didn’t bring the car into the garage just yet.
Peter turned to Steph, “So… how ya holding up?”
“I’m doing all right. You?”
Peter shrugged, “Same? I guess I’m still raping my head around the fact that Max being nice to us for once.”
“Yeah that was a little weird. Even around the football team he’s still kind of rude. But he was already a little drunk and he was still calling you guys ‘fucking nerds’ so maybe not that weird."
“Well it was nice while it lasted. Still, I just hope Max never realizes that the party wasn’t supposed to be a nice gift.”
“Well considering he still believes Jaison’s story that some sycamore kid knocked his sport bag off a bench and into the old drainage ditch behind the football field, I think we’ll be fine.”
“Huh, comments on Max’s intelligence aside, there was something to ask you back at the Waylon place.”
“That being?”
“Would you, um…like to join Richie, Ruth and I at the library tomorrow at one so we can all study and work on class assignments together?”
“Oh, uh, yeah sounds good. See you then.”
Steph stepped out of the car but before she closed the door behind her she said, “Well, have a good night.”
Peter stammered out, “Uh, yeah, you too.” as Steph closed the van door, walked over to her car on the curb, and drove away.
As soon as Steph was gone Peter started pounding his forehead on the top of the steering wheel shouting, “Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!” Before putting his face in his hands.
“Why you’d have to chicken out at the last second! You already made the decision to go for it back at the Waylon house! All you had to do was ask if she’d ever consider going on a date with you! But no, you got cold feet worrying about what Max would do and asked her to study with our friends instead. Augh… why is this so difficult?!”
Peter took a moment to breathe and calm down before pulling the van into the garage and heading inside. When he did he could hear the TV on in the living room. Peter then heard the TV volume lowering as his dad shouted, “Pete! Is that you?”
Peter shouted back, “Yes.”
“Where were you?”
“Studying with friends.”
“Alright then. Hey could you do your old man a solid and get me a beer.”
“Sure.”
Peter made his way to the kitchen, grabbed a bottle from the fridge, and walked into the living room to give it to his dad, who already had an empty bottle beside him.
“Here.”
“Thanks.”
With that Peter just walked out of the living room without another word and to his bedroom.
- - - -
As Steph stepped inside, she noticed most of the lights in the house were turned off. Steph quietly made her way upstairs avoiding her father. After closing the door to her bedroom behind her, Steph tossed her backpack onto a chair and laid down on her bed. Normally Steph would start scrolling through twitter, but since she didn’t have her phone she started thinking instead. Specifically about what Peter said right before she left.
She didn’t know why, but Steph had the feeling that asking her to a study session wasn’t what Peter was originally going to ask her. There was something about the tone of his voice that just made it sound off. But if that wasn’t what he was going to ask, then what was it?
Steph had this feeling inside her that she couldn’t quite name, but she felt something similar a few times before. And each time it was with Peter. Like canoeing and talking with Peter at camp, or playing video games together, or helping him put on makeup at the Waylon place. Steph wondered why she got this weird feeling while spending time with Peter. Then it hit her.
Is this, she asked herself, what it’s like to have a crush on someone you know?
No, that can’t be right. Steph has had feelings for other people in the past. Her first crush was Belle from Beauty and the Beast, then there was Andrew Garfield after she watched him in the two Amazing Spider-Man movies, and that one time when Steph was a freshman she had a crush on this girl two grades above her, Ruby Hanks. Who got in the local paper after she won the twenty nineteen Michigan state young robotics competition.
That’s when Steph realized that most of her previous crushes were nerdy in some way. But that didn’t mean anything. Steph figured she was just tired and thus a bit loopy after a long day, so she got herself ready for bed and went to sleep.
But then Steph had a dream that night. She dreamed that she and Peter were on a swing set together in the middle of the woods. The two of them started to try and get as high on the swing as possible. Then Step swung up too high and flew out of the swing. But before Steph could hit the ground Peter was suddenly there to catch her. Steph looked Peter in the eyes, the light made them sparkle like silver. Peter closed his eyes and leaned in. But as Steph closed her eyes to meet him, she woke up. As Steph lied in bed she covered her face with her pillow.
“Auuuuugh! Why did you have to develop a crush on him of all people! The boy who you can't interact with in public without the threat of him getting bullied by Max. But it's fine, just continue being friends with him. Just don't think about how you're only just now realizing how flustered Pete was acting last night. Just go to the library this afternoon and pretend that there's nothing going on.”
But as Steph got up and started getting ready for the day, her mind kept going back to Peter. As she was finished getting ready she looked at her reflection in the mirror, and sighed.
“Oh who are you kidding Steph, you can’t just bury this forever. You like him, he probably likes you. You’re not going to enjoy it, but you’ll have to talk to him about it eventually.”
As Steph walked downstairs she muttered to herself, “Fucking stupid brain, making you feel stupid emotions about a not stupid boy. Augh… why is this so difficult?!”
Notes:
Next time: Steph joins the nerds for a study session, and it's not awkward between Steph and Peter at all.
Chapter 22: You're Welcome
Summary:
Steph gets to meet up with her cheerleader friends then heads to the library to study with Peter and co.
Notes:
So this would have been out out sooner, then the most anticipated indie game of the past six years came out (on my birthday no less) and I got distracted.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
That morning Steph decided to get some Starbucks. Not just for the pick me up, but to hopefully talk with some of her cheerleader friends who went to Starbucks nearly every day. Sure enough when Steph got there she came across Stacy and Brenda sitting together at a table, talking to each other. They didn't notice her right away so Steph ordered her usual, a grande iced latte with coconut milk and two pumps of vanilla. After getting her drink Steph made her way over to where her friends were sitting.
Steph smiled. “Hey girls.”
Stacy and Brenda both started beaming, then Stacy shouted, “Oh my God, Steph! It's so good to see you!”
Stacy got up and gave Steph a hug.
“Woah, calm down Stace. It's been less than a day.”
“Yeah but I wasn't able to text or call you at all.”
Stacy let go of Steph and the two of them sat down.
Brenda then asked, “Well since you're here, could you tell us about this party thing that happened last?”
“Wait, how do you know about that?”
“Max told the football team who then told us how you and a bunch of nerds planned a spooky ghost party just for him. When we all heard about this we were really confused.”
Stacy chimed in, “Yeah, we were like, ‘What the hell! Why would nerds throw a party? And invite Max of all people?’ Then we learned Max liked it for some reason so now we're really confused.”
Steph took a deep breath, she had to answer carefully. Give her friends enough details to satisfy their curiosity, but not so much that it leads to them learning stuff Steph promised to keep secret.
“It's kind of a long story, but here it goes. Grace wanted to pull a prank on Max by luring him to the Waylon place and scaring him with some creepy music and monster costumes. At first he was scared, then he decided it was time to face his fears. So I had to stop him from punching a skeleton, who was just Ruth in a costume, in the face.”
“Wait,” Stacy interrupted, “Ruth is the name of the head gear girl, right?”
“Yes. But after I told him it was a prank he was really appreciative, saying this was the nicest thing anyone has done for him.”
Brenda got a thoughtful but also confused look and said, “Wait, that's like, kinda sad.”
“That's what we thought. But while Max was complementing Peter and Ruth’s acting, the floor boards beneath him started to fail. Peter had to tackle Max to prevent him from falling through the floor.”
“Wow, Max must have been pissed after getting tackled out of nowhere.”
“He was until he realized that Pete pretty much saved his life. After learning just how unsafe that place was we decided to cut things short and go home.”
“Huh, Max wasn't pissed at being saved by a nerd?”
“Like I said, Max was weirdly appreciative last night. I don't know if it was the alcohol or if he truly enjoyed our little prank turned face your fears party.”
“Now you said that Grace was the one who got the ball rolling. Any idea why she did it?”
“That girl is a riddle wrapped inside an enigma, who should probably get some kind of therapy. I have some suspicions, but no solid answers.”
Stacy, who'd been listening this whole time asked, “So, how did you get roped into all of this?”
Steph rubbed the back of her neck and took a deep breath. “Remember yesterday when we were talking about Peter not showing up to help me study?”
Stacy and Brenda both nodded and said, “Yeah.”
“Turns out Pete made it all the way to the parking lot when he ran into Max. Apparently even that is a no nerd zone. So Max beat him up and gave him a black eye.”
Brenda sharply inhaled, “Fuck, that oughta hurt.”
“When I saw him like that I wanted to go to the principal but Richie said it wasn't worth it because he wouldn't do anything with the big game in two weeks.”
Stacy asked, “Just to be clear, we're talking about Richie who wears the team mascot costume, right?”
“Yes. Anyway Grace barged in and insisted that she had the solution to all of our Max problems and we were going to help.”
Brenda asked, “And her solution was to throw a party for him?”
“Well it was supposed to be more of a prank, but Max didn’t see it that way.”
Just then both Brenda and Stacy got a text notification on their phones. They answered it and turned back to Steph.
Stacy explained, “That was the rest of the cheer squad. We're all meeting up this afternoon. Do you wanna come with us? You’re always welcome as an honorary member and friend.”
“Thanks but I’m going to the library this afternoon to study.”
Brenda and Stacy stared at Steph like she was talking crazy, because she kinda was from their perspectives.
Brenda asked, “Girl are you okay? I think you might have spent too much time with those nerds yesterday.”
Well technically she’d had spent a lot more time with Peter, Richie and Ruth, but Steph was going to keep her word. So like before she gave them a part of the truth.
“My dad won’t give me back my phone until I improve my grades. So if I wanna get it back as soon as possible, I need to spend more time studying."
“Ugh fine. But as soon as you get your phone back I'm taking you to the mall and I’m going to buy you something nice.”
- - - -
As Peter walked to the usual spot in the library, he found Richie and Ruth already there.
“Hey guys.”
Ruth looked up from her math homework and smiled. “Hey Pete. Did you get started on the work we sent you for the physics project?”
Peter pointed at the backpack on him, “Yep, got it all here.”
Richie smiled too. “Awesome, now we have everything we need to get started on the in class part on Monday.”
Peter sat down at his usual spot. “Hey just to let you guys know, I invited Steph to join us. She’ll be here around one. I hope you guys don't mind.”
Richie raised an eyebrow and asked, “You ask her to study with us?”
“Yep.”
“And she said yes?”
“Come on Richie, she just asked for help studying two days ago.”
“I know she needs to get her grades up to get her phone back, but it's still a little weird.”
Ruth turned to Richie, “Come on, maybe this could be a good thing. Maybe Peter can finally get his study date.”
Peter fidgeted with the straps of his backpack as he said, “So, um, turns out Steph just wanted some help studying.”
Ruth groaned, “Man, we were this close.”
Meanwhile Richie turned to Peter and said. “I hope you're not too disappointed.”
Peter sighed, “Kinda but not really. Plus last night when she told me she just wanted some study help she also told me that she only goes on dates with guys who ask her out first. So it wasn’t really anything.”
Then Ruth's eyes went wide as she realized something, “Wait you said Steph supposedly dates people who ask first, right?”
“Um, yeah?”
“What if she was subtly trying to tell you that she wants you to ask her out!”
Peter smacked himself in the face, “Oh my God you're right! Ugh, I should have just asked her out!”
“Wait,” Richie shouted as he stared at Peter, “you’re telling me you’ve thought about asking Stephane Lauter out on a date?! And you haven’t?!”
“I chickened out thinking about what Max would do if he found out, so I asked her to study with us today instead.”
Richie and Ruth looked towards each other then back to Peter and both shouted, “You what?!”
This got the attention of a librarian reshelving books who shushed them, “Quiet. This is a library.”
Ruth quickly apologized before quietly shouting, “When Steph walks in here in a few minutes, you are going to ask her out!”
That's when Ruth got a lightbulb moment and said, “I have an idea!”
- - - -
As Steph walked into the library and began looking around she eventually found Peter sitting by himself at a table.
“Hey Pete, where's Richie and Ruth?”
“Oh, uh, they're looking for books in the back, they're gonna be a while.”
That's when Steph caught something odd, two figures watching her from behind the bookshelves. Said figures then ducked down as soon as Steph noticed them.
“Uh, Peter? What was…”
But that's when Peter slid a piece of paper across the table that read, “I know Ruth and Richie are hiding and spying on us from behind the bookshelves. Just humor them for now.”
Still not entirely sure what was going on, but willing to play along, Steph finished the sentence with, “Wait never mind, it was probably nothing.”
Steph continued talking with Peter as she pulled out a chair and sat next to him.
“So what should we get started with?”
“Well it depends on what you're struggling with the most and what your preferred learning style is. So if you don’t mind, I want to start by taking a look at some of your most recent assignments. To see what parts you got right and which parts you got wrong.”
“Um, okay let me grab what I got out of my backpack.”
But before Steph started digging through her stuff she slid that piece of paper Peter used back to him. On it she wrote, “can u write y rich and ruth r spying on us?”
By the time Steph found all the things she wanted to grab Peter had written, “It's complicated.”
Steph looked at the paper, then at Peter who was blushing a little bit. She then wrote, “do u want to talk about it?”
Peter took a deep breath and let out a groan, “Fuck, might as well say it now.”
Peter turned towards Steph as he continued, “So last night you said you go on dates with people who ask you out, right?”
Steph felt a little flustered as she answered, “Well for the first date anyway.”
“Right so hypothetically if the need to keep our friendship secret wasn’t in place, would you go on a date with me?”
Now Steph was blushing too. “Are you asking me out on a date?”
Peter rambled, the words spilling out of his mouth, “Well, uh, if it wasn’t a big risk being together and if you were cool with it obviously. If you don’t see me that way I will understand and back off but-”
Steph cut in, “Spankoffski, just ask. I want you to.”
Peter’s heart raced as he realized what Steph was implying. So he took a deep breath and asked, “Steph, would you like to go on a date with me tomorrow night?”
“I would love that, Pete.”
Just then two voices shouted from the bookshelves.
“What the fuck?!”
“Yes! She- wait. Why are you-”
“Max just texted me!”
“What the fuck?!”
Peter turned towards the book shelves and asked, “What did you just say Richie?”
Richie and Ruth made their way from behind the bookshelf and sat down at the table with Peter and Steph as Richie continued and asked, “What should I do?”
Steph looked at the message, immediately took Richie’s phone, and started texting back.
- - - -
Sept 19th 1:06 pm
Hay Richie this is Max did you post that videeo yet? I wana show every 1
First how did you get this number?
Kyle stil had it from you 2 working on a prawject togethr in 10th grade
I was studying all morning but I can probably edit it tonight
FUCKING NERD!!!
Just get it done sune
- - - -
Steph handed the phone back to Richie, “I think that did the trick?”
Richie leaned back to stare at the ceiling, “Max texted me and the worst thing he said was calling me a nerd. What is happening right now? It’s not like Max is suddenly cool with us, right? It’s impossible.”
Peter threw his hands up in defeat, “I don’t know maybe! I mean we thought it was impossible for people to turn into wolves or for that goat to get on the roof of the pawn shop.”
Steph raised an eyebrow, “What?”
Peter turned to Steph, “In the middle of the noodle incident some goats from the pop up petting zoo got loose and one of them ended up on the roof.” He turned back to Richie and continued making his point. “So is it so hard to believe that by accidentally being nice to Max made him willing to be nicer to us?”
“Well if you ask me,” Ruth said with a smile, “if this means no more swirlies and wedggies then lets just accept it for now.”
Peter nodded in agreement, “Exactly. Also I’m not expecting Max to be all buddy buddy with us now, I’m just hoping that he won’t make our lives a living hell anymore.”
Richie was still a little unsure but agreed with Peter. “I guess you guys have a point.”
“In that case,” Richie said while standing up, “I'd better go home and start editing the footage.”
Ruth also stood up. “I'll go as well.” She turned to Peter and Steph. “To give you two some space.”
Ruth said that last bit with a mischievous smile. Both Peter and Steph figured what Ruth was implying. As Richie and Ruth left, Peter began to apologize.
“I’m so sorry that happened.”
Steph smiled, “It’s fine Pete.”
“Yeah but I was hoping that asking you out would be more romantic and not immediately interrupted by chaos.”
“Well our lives are chaotic, so I’m not surprised.”
Peter’s face was getting more red by the second, and Steph couldn’t help but smile. She continued asking, “So what were you thinking of doing tomorrow night?”
“How does a walk along the beach side walking trails sound?”
“Sounds nice.”
“And would seven be a good time to pick you up?”
“Yeah that should work.”
“Great, I can’t wait.
“Me neither.”
At this point both of them were smiling like dorks and staring into each other's eyes. And Steph could swear that Peter’s eyes were just as beautiful and shimmering as they were in her dream.
But then Peter turned away, “So um, we should probably get some studying done, right?”
Steph’s brain took a moment to switch from love mode. “Oh, yeah, right. But first, a quick question.”
“Okay.”
“This is the second time you guys brought up this noodle incident. How did a goat on a roof play a part in something called the noodle incident?”
“Oh.” Peter laughed to himself, “Like I said before, that is a long story that only Ruth can tell you since Richie and I have been sworn to secrecy. If you wanna try and ask her in the future, be my guest. Now let’s get started on this study session."
Steph smiled, “Thanks again for helping with all of this.”
Peter smiled back, “You’re welcome.”
Notes:
Next time Steph and Peter have their first date.
Chapter 23: Moonstruck
Summary:
Peter and Steph go on their first date.
Notes:
Sorry it's been nearly a month. I've been busy with writers block, a sudden scented candle hyper fixation, and some other personal stuff. But it's here now, I hope you enjoy.
(See the end of the chapter for more notes.)
Chapter Text
One one hand Peter felt like the happiest guy in town. He had asked Stephanie Lauter on a date and she said yes. But on the other hand he was panicking. He’d never gone on a date before and Steph had probably been on dozens of dates. Not to mention all the things that could go wrong on this date.
So as he and Steph left the library Peter got in his parents car and called the only person who could offer some form of help.
“Hey dorkus! What's up?”
“Hey Ted, do you have a minute? I need your help.”
“Uhh, yeah I got a bit. What do you need help with?”
Peter took a deep breath before telling his brother, “I'm going on a date tomorrow night and I'd like some advice.”
There was silence on the line for a bit, making Peter worry that the call had been cut. But eventually from the other end Peter heard Ted shout, “Hell yeah! My baby bro fucking finally got a date! Now tell me, what's her name and how hot is she?”
“Steph and I’m not telling you that.”
“I told you to ask her out sooner! You're lucky she was still on the menu after all this time. So what's the date? Are we talking about a basic dinner and movie or something a little more spicy?”
“It's the first date Ted! I don't want to go from zero to one hundred! But to answer your question, we're going on a walk near the beach while enjoying the sunset.”
“Okay that can work if she's into that old school stuff. Now let me tell you some of… no, you know what come on over to my place. This needs to be done in person.”
“But you’ve been giving me advice for years, including the intimate stuff. What else is there for you to tell me?”
“I've waited nearly a decade for this moment, and now it’s time. Trust me bro, you won’t regret this. After all, when have I steered you wrong before?”
“A few times but I’ll be over there in ten.”
Peter hung up and began driving towards Ted’s place. As he was driving he began to wonder what his brother would do this time. Peter hoped it would be alright but ready himself if it turned out bad.
- - - -
Sunday night, one hour before Peter would pick her up, Steph was still finalizing her outfit. She needed something warm since they would be outside all evening. She needed something she could comfortably walk in. She wondered if she should go a little extra or stay simple? Steph also kept wondering what Peter was going to wear. Would he wear something similar to his normal attire or would he wear something nicer?
Eventually Steph landed on an outfit consisting of her nice jeans, her nice red tank top, a leather jacket, and her usual boots. After pulling hair back in a ponytail and putting on make up, Steph waited outside for Peter so he wouldn’t knock or ring the doorbell alerting her Dad in the process.
At seven Steph saw a baby-blue Studebaker with the top down drive up the street and park in front of her house, with Peter at the wheel.
From the front porch Steph yelled, “Hey, I thought your family wasn’t actually rich like everyone else believed. Where the hell did you get a car like this?” as she walked towards the curb.
Peter answered back, “It’s my brother’s car. He let me borrow it with a ‘you break it you buy it’ like clause if I so much as scratch it.”
As Steph got to the car she could see that Peter was wearing a nice brown jacket over a mustard brown button up shirt. She could also smell Peter had some sort of cologne, something woody with some cinnamon.
Steph smiled, “You look nice Spankoffski.”
Peter blushed as he replied, “Thanks, you too.”
As Steph got in the passenger seat, Peter continued. “My brother wanted me to try wearing one of his flashier shirts. I had to remind him it was an outdoor evening date in September three times for him to drop it. I know one of his lessons was about dressing to look good, but what about combining looks and practicality?”
Peter started driving off as Steph asked, “Your brother has romance lessons?”
Peter sighed, “Yep, his ninety-nine lessons he learned while mastering the art of picking up chicks as he calls it. Some of it is good advice if you get past the wording, but some of it is just, well…”
“Cringey?”
“Yeah, kinda. When I was younger I really looked up to him. I still do, at least a little bit. But…” Peter trailed off before continuing with, “Any way, thanks again for saying yes to this date.”
“Of course, I hope this will be a fun time.”
Peter smiled a little, like he just thought of something funny before sarcastically saying, “So long Max doesn’t show up,” before muttering, "seriously it was like he just appeared out of nowhere.”
The two of them enjoyed the wind in their hair as Peter drove. The September air was chilly but not bone chilling cold, it was probably one of the last relatively enjoyable evenings before the night turned near freezing. Some of the trees in and around town were still green while others were turning burnt orange, bright yellow, and fiery red.
As Steph took this all in she turned towards Peter and smiled. While she'd been on quite a few dates before, Steph had never been this happy on a date before. Sure some had taken her out on nice, perfectly fine dates. But none of them had made her happy immediately like Peter did.
They reached the docks where the water front walking trail started as the sun was close to touching the horizon. Peter parked the car and the two of them got out and started walking along the trail.
Peter had put both of his hands in the pockets of his jacket, so Steph did the same. She turned to Peter and asked, “So any particular reason you chose this for our date?”
“Oh, well I figured you had been on plenty of dates at the movies or a restaurant. So I wanted to do something that was at least a little bit unique. Plus I've really grown to enjoy the quiet beauty of the outside world in the past few years.”
“You know, I've been to quite a few parties at the beach but I've never really stopped to enjoy the view of the lake.”
“I don't know if I ever told you this but one of the reasons I took marine biology is the class has a few assignments that involve heading out to the waterfront to collect water samples or observe the wildlife.”
“That actually sounds kinda cool. Definitely more interesting than just sitting in class listening to the hundredth lecture.”
Peter then spent several minutes talking about the stuff he learned about in class as Steph listened. As she did Steph was reminded of their conversations in the camp canoes.
“Hey Pete?” Peter stopped his rambling and turned towards Steph, “Out of curiosity, were you inspired to go here because it reminded you of all the conversations we had on the water at camp?”
“Well this was the first thing I thought of, but after the fact, yeah. Looking back at the time we spent together at camp, it was probably when I really started developing a crush on you.” Peter quietly laughed to himself, “Funny how that hellhole of a camp was good for something.”
Steph reached out to wrap her arm around one of Peter’s arms in a sort of side hug. “In retrospect, camp might have been when I started developing a crush on you too.”
Peter’s eyes went wide. “Wait! You had a crush on me too?!”
“What did you think, that I said yes to this date just to be nice?”
“No it's just, well, I know it's been said before, but never had I imagined that a girl like you would fall for a guy like me.”
“Don’t sell yourself short Spankoffski. Like I’ve said before, you're fun to talk to, you're comfortable in your own nerdiness and you’re not a blind rule follower. Plus this crush is still kinda new for me. It started simmering at camp but only boiled over Friday when I was putting the finishing touches on your ghost costume. And even then I didn’t realize what it was til yesterday morning.”
“Steph, can I tell you something kinda embarrassing?"
“That being?”
“Was originally going to ask you on a date Friday night but chickened out. I was worried that you would say no or Max would find out somehow and grind me into a pulp. But then when Ruth helped me realize you telling me that you only date guys who ask you out first could have been you subtly tell me ‘Hey you can ask me out.’ I decided to at least take my shot.”
“Well I’m glad you decided to take that shot because this was my first time being in the ‘I have a crush but I’m waiting for them to ask me on a date’ phase, and it wasn’t fun for even one morning."
Peter pulled his hand out of his pocket and took Steph’s hand in his.
“Good thing you weren’t there for long.”
Steph smiled as a warm feeling filled her chest. While most girls would go for the strong charming guy, she had fallen head over heels for the awkward, nerdy, suspender wearing, secretly magical werewolf, yet still charming in her eyes guy. And she couldn’t be happier right now.
The two of them held each other's hand as they walked and talked for the rest of the evening. They got back to the parking lot as sunset turned to twilight and a crescent moon could be seen in the sky.
As they approached the car Steph turned towards Peter, “Thanks again for asking me out Pete, I had a nice time.”
Peter smiled back, “Me too.” But then his smile faded as the two of them got into the car. “Is it bad I can’t help what the popular kids will say if they find out we went on a date together?”
“Luckily I’m at least on friendly terms with pretty much everyone at school, so I’ll make sure they’re okay with us. And if they aren’t then we'll face that together.” Steph slid across the front seat to wrap her arm around Peter. “Because to me this is worth fighting for.”
Steph then leaned in and gave Peter a soft peck on the cheek. As leaned back she saw that Peter had an expression of surprise that faded into a smile. Then she noticed something else, Peter’s eyes had turned a shimmering silver with a soft glow that was slowly turning back to their normal brown.
“You never told me your eyes could sparkle like that.”
“They can? I’ve never seen Richie’s or Ruth’s eyes sparkle.”
“Well, have you looked into their eyes as they were kissed by someone?”
“Uh, no.”
Steph kissed Peter on the cheek again, but this time the silver shimmer wasn’t as obvious this time.
“Not as sparkly as before, maybe it’s more of an emotional reaction thing.”
“Huh, what did it look like?”
“Instead of brown they were a light silver with some sort of glitter or gemstone like sparkle and a soft glow, they were back to normal after a couple seconds. The second time it was a quick pulse of a shimmer that I only noticed because I was looking for it.”
“Just when I thought we had all the magic stuff figured out.”
Peter turned on the car and started driving. Steph noticed that Peter was oddly quiet during the ride back to her home. Steph doubted it was because of anything she did, but she still wanted to ask. As they came to the curb in front of her house she turned to Peter and asked if something was wrong.
Peter quickly responded, “What, no! If you're talking about the kiss, it’s not that! Well kinda, but it’s nothing negative about you! It’s just…” Peter took a deep breath and continued. “I was just hoping for a normal date with no Max in the way or magic making things weird. That’s all.”
Steph took Peter’s hand. “Don’t you remember what I told you the day I learned about everything?”
Peter sighed with a smile. “You said was normal is over rated.”
“And I’ve known there was something off about the woods for a long time thanks to my dad. So magic werewolves and cursed houses are a little bit of a step up so to speak. But if you ask me it’s less of a step then going from no knowledge or belief in the supernatural to sudden confirmation. So I guess what I’m trying to say is, your magic didn’t ruin our date.”
Peter pulled Steph in closer. “Thanks, I’m glad you had a good time.” He paused for a moment. “Before you go, can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Would you like to go out on another date with me sometime in the future?”
Steph bit her lip as smiled. "Of course. What kind of couple would we be if I only went on one date with you.”
Peter stared in disbelief. “Wait, you think of ourselves as a couple?”
“Well, do you wanna be a couple?”
Peter opened his mouth to talk but stopped and thought for a moment before answering, “Yes, I’d love to be your boyfriend.”
The two of them stared into each other's eyes for a moment before they both leaned in for a proper kiss. Because both of their eyes were closed neither could see Peter’s eyes shimmering like a thousand stars. Or the small spark that flickered in Steph’s eyes.
As the two of them pulled away Steph smiled and said, “See you at school tomorrow?”
“Yeah,” Peter said with a grin, “See you then. Goodnight.”
“Good night to you too.”
Notes:
Next time, "Hey, remember how we were going to talk to that Hannah kid Monday morning?"
Pages Navigation
TrueLahey on Chapter 1 Mon 14 Oct 2024 02:30AM UTC
Comment Actions
An_Observatory on Chapter 1 Mon 14 Oct 2024 02:33AM UTC
Comment Actions
KitCorvin on Chapter 3 Thu 24 Oct 2024 03:14PM UTC
Comment Actions
An_Observatory on Chapter 3 Thu 24 Oct 2024 03:18PM UTC
Comment Actions
KitCorvin on Chapter 3 Thu 24 Oct 2024 09:41PM UTC
Comment Actions
ItsreadingtimetoRead on Chapter 3 Fri 25 Oct 2024 05:36AM UTC
Comment Actions
An_Observatory on Chapter 3 Fri 25 Oct 2024 06:02AM UTC
Comment Actions
ItsreadingtimetoRead on Chapter 3 Fri 25 Oct 2024 06:37AM UTC
Comment Actions
An_Observatory on Chapter 3 Fri 25 Oct 2024 06:48AM UTC
Comment Actions
MarkeroftheMidnight on Chapter 3 Mon 18 Aug 2025 07:32AM UTC
Comment Actions
An_Observatory on Chapter 3 Mon 18 Aug 2025 04:06PM UTC
Comment Actions
ThatRandoFangirl on Chapter 5 Mon 28 Apr 2025 07:05PM UTC
Comment Actions
An_Observatory on Chapter 5 Mon 28 Apr 2025 07:08PM UTC
Comment Actions
MarkeroftheMidnight on Chapter 5 Mon 18 Aug 2025 07:51AM UTC
Comment Actions
An_Observatory on Chapter 5 Mon 18 Aug 2025 04:09PM UTC
Comment Actions
KitCorvin on Chapter 6 Sat 09 Nov 2024 05:13AM UTC
Comment Actions
An_Observatory on Chapter 6 Sat 09 Nov 2024 05:56AM UTC
Last Edited Sat 09 Nov 2024 05:56AM UTC
Comment Actions
ItsreadingtimetoRead on Chapter 6 Sat 09 Nov 2024 07:25AM UTC
Comment Actions
An_Observatory on Chapter 6 Sat 09 Nov 2024 07:34AM UTC
Last Edited Sat 09 Nov 2024 07:37AM UTC
Comment Actions
Mothmuncher on Chapter 7 Fri 15 Nov 2024 08:46AM UTC
Comment Actions
An_Observatory on Chapter 7 Fri 15 Nov 2024 08:48AM UTC
Comment Actions
UnintentionalOctopus on Chapter 7 Wed 20 Nov 2024 07:04PM UTC
Comment Actions
An_Observatory on Chapter 7 Wed 20 Nov 2024 07:14PM UTC
Comment Actions
ThatRandoFangirl on Chapter 7 Tue 29 Apr 2025 02:44PM UTC
Comment Actions
An_Observatory on Chapter 7 Tue 29 Apr 2025 03:51PM UTC
Comment Actions
ShinyCharX on Chapter 9 Thu 27 Mar 2025 07:32PM UTC
Comment Actions
An_Observatory on Chapter 9 Thu 27 Mar 2025 07:38PM UTC
Comment Actions
UnintentionalOctopus on Chapter 10 Thu 16 Jan 2025 06:01AM UTC
Comment Actions
An_Observatory on Chapter 10 Thu 16 Jan 2025 06:35AM UTC
Comment Actions
GTheWriter1224 on Chapter 11 Mon 20 Jan 2025 02:48AM UTC
Comment Actions
An_Observatory on Chapter 11 Mon 20 Jan 2025 03:30AM UTC
Comment Actions
UnintentionalOctopus on Chapter 11 Mon 20 Jan 2025 05:53AM UTC
Comment Actions
An_Observatory on Chapter 11 Mon 20 Jan 2025 06:15AM UTC
Comment Actions
GTheWriter1224 on Chapter 13 Sat 08 Mar 2025 01:22PM UTC
Comment Actions
An_Observatory on Chapter 13 Sat 08 Mar 2025 04:13PM UTC
Comment Actions
UnintentionalOctopus on Chapter 13 Sat 08 Mar 2025 09:49PM UTC
Comment Actions
An_Observatory on Chapter 13 Sat 08 Mar 2025 10:23PM UTC
Comment Actions
MarkeroftheMidnight on Chapter 13 Mon 18 Aug 2025 03:12PM UTC
Comment Actions
An_Observatory on Chapter 13 Mon 18 Aug 2025 04:14PM UTC
Comment Actions
ThatRandoFangirl on Chapter 13 Tue 29 Apr 2025 05:37PM UTC
Comment Actions
An_Observatory on Chapter 13 Tue 29 Apr 2025 06:04PM UTC
Comment Actions
rake_rattrap on Chapter 14 Sat 19 Jul 2025 04:44AM UTC
Comment Actions
An_Observatory on Chapter 14 Sat 19 Jul 2025 05:15AM UTC
Comment Actions
MarkeroftheMidnight on Chapter 14 Mon 18 Aug 2025 03:36PM UTC
Comment Actions
An_Observatory on Chapter 14 Mon 18 Aug 2025 04:18PM UTC
Comment Actions
Pages Navigation