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Post by swivelcanines on Apr 26, 2008 19:46:01 GMT -5
Sometimes Paul got so caught up in his responsibilities to the pack that he forgot how young he still was. That he wasn’t even of legal drinking age yet, that he still had school, that he was still eighteen. It was strange, because most of the pack not only looked much older than they were but acted much older. Sam for example; he acted like he was in his fourties for God’s sake. Paul wasn’t sure how old he acted but it really didn’t feel like eighteen. More like a mix between fifteen and eighty. Fifteen because he was a horny pervert, eighty because it felt like he’d been through so much already, enough for a whole life span. It was somewhat troubling to think he still had so much time to go (or maybe not, he always figured he’d die young).
Standing at his locker, he roughly shoved his government textbook inside, cursing in his mind at the ten page paper they had to write about Clinton’s plan for the economy. Worthless time-consuming essay is what they teacher should have referred to it as.
Peering inside his dark locker, he scanned it for his math book which he would need for homework. It was finally the end of the day and that meant he got to go home and sleep or maybe run over to Leah’s house and bug Seth with her.
He was still for a moment as he remembered that now he had a boyfriend. Did that make things different? When he had girlfriends they had wanted more of his time, but it was hard to imagine that with Embry, when before their fight they had already spent so much time together.
He stood there, a look of thoughtfulness on his face as he wondered about his new relationship and what it meant for his schedule. Anyone else would have just seen Paul, looking into his locker, jeans and a green t-shirt with some band logo on it, even though he wasn’t a big music fan in general. Unfortunately he couldn’t get away with going barefoot in the hallways, or he wouldn’t be wearing his scuffed up gray converses.
There was less than a month left of school and the excitement in the air was practically tangible. He himself felt it but wasn’t as eager as his classmates. School was fine but graduation was a strange and slightly scary thing to think about. He was going to have to get a job this summer for sure.
Closing his locker, he sighed and looked down the hallway. Several members of the pack attended the high school but they had rehearsals today for some of the minor cast characters, so he wasn’t sure he’d see them. Annie and Embry were probably around somewhere and he doubted Jake would go to rehearsals without either Annie nor Quil, who was sick, there to hang out with him.
Yawning into his fist, he leaned his forehead against the cold metal surface of his locker, closing his eyes for just a moment..
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Post by embry on Apr 26, 2008 20:23:30 GMT -5
Hours seemed to long in here. Most people would say that about school, but Embry Call felt it to be particularly true when he had such better things he could be doing. He was a good student, sure, for all that he missed class due to pack issues (a lot) and had more missing homework than probably anyone next to Paul. He got good test grades, though, and that had to count for something. Lately, though, he'd found himself zoning out in classes, and waiting on tenterhooks for the last bell to ring.
Now, as he headed out of class towards his locker, Embry felt the barest hint of a smile growing on his face. Junior year had been a bit stressful, but it could've been worse. He'd decided to wait on S.A.T.s at least, so he didn't have to deal with that. And everything had started looking up in the past few days when Paul had admitted to liking Embry. He had Paul Angustus as a boyfriend.
He must've looked silly, standing there, in his stone washed jeans, his blue tee shirt with faded bronze lettering, sneakers shot to hell, grabbing books from his locker into his backpack as he grinned. His hair, dark brown, looked finger combed around his face, his hazel eyes bright with his smile. He moved to slam the locker shut, but someone stood in the way, and his beginning of an apology ("Oh, sorry," and "excuse me") trailed away into nothing.
The boy was staring at him, looking disgusted, and Embry already knew what was coming. The gossip mill once more, and he knew this boy's mother was a constant source of it. Mostly against his mother. "Watch where eyou're going, Embry," he said, apparently either ignoring or not seeing that Embry had rolled his eyes at such a cliché remark.
"Yeah, so sorry," Embry said quickly. "But I have placed to be, so could you move?" He shifted his bag higher on his shoulder, looking annoyed.
The other boy was just as tall as Embry and not threatened. "Just a minute. So you and Angustus?" He must've noted the way Emrby's face had frozen for his smile (smirk freakin' bastard) widened. "Seriously? Wow. I always knew there was somethign weird about you."
Embry flushed, furious, and instructed him to do something he wouldn't have said in front of his mother. Although he could feel his pulse racing, it was distant. He wouldn't phase, a blessing.
"Speaking of which," the boy continued, obviously amused at Embry's anger, "I was wondering. You're probably the bitch in that, right?"
Embry slammed the locker and the boy jumped out of the way to avoid it, narrowly missing getting his arm caught between the metal door and probably broken. "Go to hell," he snapped back, glancing around the hallway. Oh, God, he hoped they weren't attracting attention. He hoped Paul wouldn't see.
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Post by swivelcanines on Apr 26, 2008 20:35:45 GMT -5
He looked up when he heard sneakers squeaking against the tiles of the hallway and felt a small grin pull at his lips when Embry’s lanky frame came into focus. He grabbed his books from his locker, stuffing them in his backpack in a lazy sort of way, despite his eagerness to go greet Embry. He was tired and the day of school had worn him out. He’d go for a good run that night, he decided. He had patrol in the morning anyway, might as well go out early. And Collin would probably take to talking to him again if he did him a favor and took his shift.
He didn’t notice the beginning of the exchange between Embry and the boy (he was pretty sure his name was Matt) but he saw it now, the smug posture of the boy and the beginnings of a scowl on Embry’s face. Lines appeared in his forehead as his brows furrowed together in confusion. Embry rarely ever had a problem with anyone in the school, or anywhere for that matter. He couldn’t even begin to guess what this could be about.
Slinging his backpack over his shoulder he sauntered over, not really concerned about it. Embry could fight his own battles and if he was having problems with Matt then he’d handle it by himself. He couldn’t have known that what they were talking about concerned him as well as Embry.
He nudged his shoulder against Embry’s, concerned that he looked so angry. “You okay?” He looked briefly at the other boy and back to him. “What’s up? Something wrong?” He shot Matt a cool glare that quite clearly told him he should fuck off if he was messing around with Embry. Paul knew Embry would be upset if he stuck up for him, but Paul wanted to talk to Embry. Now. So basically Matt didn’t need to be there anymore.
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Post by embry on Apr 26, 2008 20:57:17 GMT -5
Embry glanced up in time to see Paul moving towards them and caught the look of confusion and quite mild concern on his pack mate's face. He hoped that Matt would have the common sense to just turn tail and leave now rather than letting Paul get any wind of the fight, but he couldn't be sure. The boy was obviously pretty stupid to try and mess with Embry. He was a hormonal werewolf for God's sake.
A shoulder nudged against his own and he looked sidelong at Paul. He smiled, small but genuine to see Paul there and quickly responded. "Yeah, everything's fine." He knew Paul could be somewhat protective, but at least if he thought it was just a stupid kid, he'd leave it alone. "I'm great. You feel like getting out of here? I wanna hit Emily's. I'm starving."
The boy, Matt, raised his eyebrows at the scene before him and tilted his head slightly, looking as though he'd just heard somethign interesting. "Huh," he said, apparently not threatened by Paul's glare. "So it is true. I was asking Call. I mean, I can see him as a fag, easy, but I didn't expect it from you."
Embry flushed, his gaze falling from Paul to the other boy. "Shut up," he snapped, somewhere between fury and fear. "It doesn't matter. It's none of your damn business, so get lost." He was scared to look over at Paul. Scared to see the reaction that would come from him.
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Post by swivelcanines on Apr 26, 2008 21:06:07 GMT -5
“Actually I was thinking of heading over to Leah’s,” he said, a bit sheepishly, for all that Embry disliked her. Teasing Seth was just too much fun. Leah told him he had been keeping a diary for awhile now and he wanted to be there when she read it.
He was smiling even brighter, a reaction from Embry’s grin, when suddenly his face went blank and his gaze went straight to Matt. “Excuse me?” he asked tonelessly, knowing that he must have heard the little fucktard wrong. Because there was no way he could have said what he thought he had said.
But then Embry was tense and flushed and angry beside him and he knew he had gotten the meaning perfectly clear. His knuckles flexed in reflex; his body often knew when he was going to have to kick someone’s ass before his head did.
He stepped in front of Embry and if there was ever a time where he looked like what he was – dangerous – it was now.
“You better watch that mouth of yours before I knock all the teeth out of it and then force feed them to you,” he warned in a perfectly pleasant manner. Anyone who knew Paul knew that the threat behind the words was not something to be questioned.
Any other time, any other place and the kid would already by on the ground, not even a moment’s hesitation, but Sam had made it clear how much trouble he’d be in if he fought at school. Sam was alpha and while his thoughts about Paul’s temper weren’t an order, they were still ingrained into his disposition. He would give Matt a fair warning, and if he didn’t take it, then he’d kick his ass.
He jutted his chin at the exit and said in a very forceful manner, “Fuck off.”
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Post by embry on Apr 26, 2008 21:25:30 GMT -5
Embry's eyes flew to Paul because the way he said that "Excuse me?" made it perfectly clear he would kill this stupid ass kid and feel little to no guilt about doing it. And Embry wouldn't care if the kid got hurt (maimed, tortured, etc,) but he didn't want Paul to get in trouble over this. Over Embry of all people. It wasn't worth it.
"Protective of the boyfriend," Matt remarked and though he tried to look cool, Embry could tell that Paul actually did scare him. Which he should have; Paul was dangerous.
Paul was in front of him, and Embry had to remember that he couldn't just reach out and grab Paul's hand. Not here, in school. He couldn't just hug him and calm him down and make him smile as Embry had learned to do in their long lasted friendship and newly formed relationship. "Ignore the bastard," Embry mumured, and to Matt he added, "Fuck off."
Matt raised an eyebrow at Embry. "Very brave when he shows up. Not that I blame you. Angustus is a scary son of a bitch." He smile tilted in an ugly way. "Sorry, didn't mean that literally. I suppose I'll see you tomorrow." He waved and brushed past them towards the exit Paul had suggested he leave through.
Embry was just thankful Paul hadn't made him leave in a body bag (though with his smart mouth he might end up in one yet).
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Post by swivelcanines on Apr 26, 2008 21:39:35 GMT -5
The first signs of his temper made their appearances as Paul’s knuckles turned white with his anger. It wasn’t…he was…he was with Embry, yeah, and he knew it shouldn’t have bothered him but it did. Besides that though the way the kid said it, like he should be ashamed…it was leaving a nasty mark of doubt on him.
He could feel Embry behind him, his protests, and pushed him back slightly. He didn’t want to accidentally hit Embry when he took a swing at Matt, and he didn’t want Embry to hold him back from what he was about to do.
The kid thought he was going to walk away with a comment like that – yeah, right. He grabbed the back of his jacket and yanked him back roughly before doing something he probably shouldn’t have done but did anyway, because he could have let him walk away if not for the remark about his mom. That was too much for poor Paul to handle.
He slammed his face into the lockers with such a force that several of them down the row shook with the impact. If that wasn’t enough his hands were gripping his arms so tight that there were sure to be bruises, maybe even blood after he let go. He was seeing red. He was going to kill him.
He turned Matt back around and slammed his back against the lockers, and his green eyes were murderous. “I don’t know what to call you,” he sneered with disgust, his words low and mocking. “If I’m a ‘fag’,” he growled, putting emphasis on the word to show the kid that he wasn’t, he wasn’t a fag he just liked Embry and he pushed that thought aside, he could deal with that later when this clown was gone, and continued, “and you just got your face pushed in by me. Oh, I know,” he said thoughtfully, ramming his fist into Matt’s stomache. “You’re the fucking dumbass who would’ve ended up better a stain on a sheet rather than –“ He didn’t get to finish his thought because his fist had connected to the Matt’s face and he winced just slightly at the impact. And if Embry didn’t pull him off of him his jaw was about to be broken along with his nose.
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Post by embry on Apr 26, 2008 21:56:10 GMT -5
Embry felt himself stumble back slightly, not expecting Paul to reach behind him. He didn't fall, though, not even close, and he ad looked up at Paul to ask him what the hell Paul was thinking when he saw. He saw very clearly what Paul was thinking or rather he saw Paul not thinking. He'd lost his temper again and it was a miracle he hadn't phased right here in front of the entire school, everyone watching. Thank God for small miracles. Or whatever control Paul had managed to perfect.
"Jesus Christ, Paul, stop!" The kid was being slammed against the lockers, face bleeding, barely conscious and Paul had barely even warmed up. "Stop it, you're gonna kill him!" And they were probably attracting attention now and Sam was gonna kill Paul and oh, God, he needed to make Paul stop before this kid got hurt even worse. Embry was moving forward, careful to avoid the backlash of Paul's punches. He could take one better than Matt, but it would certainly slow him down.
Embry wrapped his hand around Paul's upper arm and attempted to pull him away from the bleeding boy. He was not as strong as Paul, but he was a werewolf as well and it would have more affect him pulling than anyone else short of Jacob or Sam. "Damnit, Paul, you're too damn strong to hit him like that!" And wasn't that the truth. He was physically built to kill the strongest creatures on the Earth besides werewolves; vampires. What good would a human stand in the way of that?
He was panicked, and desperate. Why did that dumb ass kid have to start something and make Paul lose his temper? Jesus, anyone who knew Paul knew he was goddamned dangerous like him. And now the whole school would know.
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Post by swivelcanines on Apr 26, 2008 22:07:50 GMT -5
He heard Embry’s words very clearly but didn’t make any move to stop beating in the boy’s face. It wasn’t until Embry pulled him back that he pulled his blood-soaked hand back. He had already let out most his anger on Matt but there was definitely still some there and there were still some more place on him that Paul wanted to hit and break before he stopped..
But Embry was Embry, and having the effect he did have on Paul, he calmed down, but barely. His breathing was labored and he ran his other hand over his knuckles, which were already healed but soft enough to the touch that he knew they had split. Scowling, he spat, “If I fucking get AIDS because of this motherfucker then I will fucking finish the job.” He wiped the blood on his jeans, leaving a dark stain where they smudged over the denim.
He was shaking violently and now in Embry’s grasp he said quietly, the logical part of him speaking, with a touch of fear to it, “I’m gonna phase.” Which meant Embry had to get him out of there before he did, because if he did, not only would everyone know he was werewolf, he would murder Matt. If Sam could scar Emily, who he loved more than life itself, in a fit of anger, Paul could easily tear Matt to pieces.
Matt, who was somehow still conscious, drawled slowly from where he was slumped on the floor. “Wha? Are you some fucking power ranger or something?”
Paul liked to think that Matt deserved the literal kick in the ass he received, just for being a complete idiot.
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Post by embry on Apr 26, 2008 22:23:00 GMT -5
Embry was breathing almost as hard as Paul, but he looked calmer when he'd seen that his pack mate was listening to him and not continuing to rearrange the other boy's face. His hand fell from Paul's upper arm to his hand, raising it between them to examine them. "I think you're safe," he murmured and attempted a small smile. "Somehow I don't see him getting laid." He examined the split knuckles (already healing) and ran his finger over them lightly.
And then Embry cursed, barely even sparing a glance at Matt for the possibly stupidest question he had ever heard in his life. He merely grabbed Paul's arm once more and started towards the nearest exit. At least he did make it a point to follow in suit and kick Matt in a not very nice place to kick fellow men on his way out. He had only enough sense to shout over his shoulder, "One of you idiots get the damned nurse!" at the students who had stopped to stare before he continued running quickly.
When they were far enough from the school to be away from prying eyes he took Paul's backpack and his own and set them aside. He knew at this point there was little he could do save for wait. Paul was going to phase (with his temper it wasn't surprising) and Embry would follow in suit once Paul had changed.
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Post by swivelcanines on Apr 26, 2008 22:34:10 GMT -5
Paul’s sight didn’t leave the bleeding Matt until they had rounded a corner and, before he knew it, thanks to Embry’s speed and calm in this type of situation, they were outside. He took a deep breathe but it did nothing to calm him. He was beyond consoling; the wolf inside of him was going to come out, one way or another.
He exploded in a flash, gray fur springing violently from his tan skin, falling to the forest floor (too) close to Embry. He writhed in his anger, not soothed even by the transformation from man to wolf, and let out a murderous growl, body, now canine, still shaking.
That motherfucker. He couldn’t believe he had the nerve to so much as look at Paul. What the fuck did he know about anything? Everything Paul had gone through, everything he had done, thrown in his face by some idiot kid who didn’t even know a quarter of the story. How fucking dare he.
And this was just what he had been scared of when he had told Embry they couldn’t be together. He didn’t even know how Matt knew, because as silly as it was, he had gone back to the beach later after they had eaten to make sure they had indeed been alone. There was no way he could have seen anything, unless Embry had said something, and if he had not been overwhelmed with his rage for the fucking moron, then he would have taken a snap at Embry. But as it was he still wasn’t over the words he knew he would never stop hearing now; fag, gay, bitch. His jaws snapped at the thought and he had to turn away from Embry to make sure he didn’t accidentally hurt him in his state of anger.
He knew there would be consequences for his actions but didn’t care. Anyone would have done the same thing as Paul. Mothers were an untouchable subject, and boyfriends who had enough self esteem problems as it were were, too.
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Post by embry on Apr 26, 2008 22:46:48 GMT -5
Embry watched as Paul's shifted. An explosion of flesh and fur and growth until only a huge silver wolf stood in front of him, angry green eyes and flattened ears. And because he was familiar with wolves and especially this one in general, he knew well enough to step back when he first transformed. Though phasing might make Paul's temper better, it might not, and wolves were dangerous to plain ol' humans.
Quickly, Embry pulled his shirt over his head and tossed it in his bag, then kicked off his shoes. He was running out of sneakers and couldn't afford to phase with them on. The warm spring sun against his bare skin was a comforting preview to the wolf screaming in his blood for control. Without any fighting, he gave over to it.
Phasing hadn't hurt him since the first time. It was a comfort, not a trial. And when where Embry once stood was now a large brown and black wolf, the big creature shook itself slightly, becoming more comfortable in its own skin once more. It padded towards the other, hesitated, and then leaned in, burying it's muzzle against the other wolf's shoulder.
Embry had been angry at Matt, but not as angry as Paul had been. He could rationalize; Matt was an idiot who knew nothing, and the insults against Embry had been ignorance. The insults against Paul made Embry want to kick Matt's face in. Embry had restrained himself. Now, though, his worry over Paul (Okay? Want to run? To stay and rest?) was more predominant in his mind than the rage that had grown earlier.
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Post by swivelcanines on Apr 26, 2008 22:54:37 GMT -5
He sat shaking there while Embry phased and grew into his new skin. The rage was growing less and less, like his body was absorbing it, letting it settle into his shivering skin. There were small growls still coming from between his teeth but it wasn’t enough to be concerned about, he wasn’t going to go find Matt and kill him (though he should have).
Embry’s touch was nothing on Earth to Paul. It could have moved mountains for him. He pressed himself back into the wolf beside him and after a moment of letting his rage simmer, he gently licked his ear, heart swelling with the emotions he felt for Embry. He loved him, he knew, though he would have to be on his death bed to admit it.
His coat bristled and blended into Embry’s, mixing the gray with the browns, and he let his tense body relax, head lowered with something close to shame. He didn’t regret kicking Matt’s face in but he knew the re-action from his mom and from Sam would be bad. Worth it, but bad.
Let me just…stay for a little, he responded, his mind still racing. Though the immediate rage was gone the anger was still there and so was the doubt and the guilt he felt for Embry. He felt responsible for what was said and didn’t want him to really take Matt’s words to heart.
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Post by embry on Apr 26, 2008 23:05:33 GMT -5
Paul's growls were soft rumbles to Embry, barely a threat and even if they were a threat he probably would have ignored them because Paul needed him right now. And that was all that mattered. Embry nuzzled the other wolf, enjoying the warmth and the soft fur against his face. If there was any feeling that could bring him more joy, he did not know it. Werewolves were creatures of comfort, it seemed, as well as creatures of destruction.
Embry jumped a little, surprised when Paul licked his ear and turned to look at him accusingly. Or it would have looked accusing, but for the laughter in his eyes. The fact that he then proceeded to lick the side of Paul's face sort of killed any pretended anger, too. He nuzzled Paul again, feeling happy that he had calmed down and less worried. He knew Paul would hear it from Sam, but Sam would be fair, at least. He would have to see how horrible that Matt kid was.
All right, Embry said/thought to him and peaceably dropped into the fresh spring grass. It was warm and nice out, and he, too, wanted some time to just sit and think and talk with Paul. His tail twitched in an absent way as he thought about the words that boy had said. Fag. Bitch. Those were all dark, cruel words, not at all words Embry associated with his feelings for Paul. So that boy was ignorant and wrong, and that was all there was to it. He was sorry that Paul had heard those words. Might as well sit down then, he added, lowering his head into the soft, new grass.
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Post by swivelcanines on Apr 26, 2008 23:14:16 GMT -5
With his fur against his face, Embry’s scent, whatever it was being wonderfully comforting, filled his senses and his tail wagged in a dog-like manner. He felt silly and ridiculous but Embry was just so…and he was nuzzling Paul for Christ’s sake. He felt like he was going to burst from his affection for his boyfriend. No one could ever make him feel this way, no one ever had. It was very very doubtful anyone ever would.
He froze a little with the look in Embry’s eyes but relaxed when he pressed his muzzle against his again and softly he nuzzled him back, face brushing along the side of his, a quiet sort of love in every stretch and movement against the other wolf’s skin.
Settling beside Embry in the grass, he rested his head on his paws and closed his eyes tightly, the fur along his spine bristling. The words reflected back into Embry’s head renewed his anger. Well, what the fuck does he know about anything. He looked over at Embry in a hopeless sort of way. It’s not true. You’re…you’re not any of that stuff. If this stuck with Embry he would kill Matt.
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