Yo.

All Shady could do is tremble slightly, keeping his eyes glued to the ground. He had never experienced such a reaction to coke before; there was a first time for everything. However, it had caused him to puke all over this girl’s shoes.

Shady would not blab about his personal life to a mere stranger, no matter how nice they were to him. For all he knew, Alcedio could have eyes & ears here. They managed to stay undercover for so long, blowing it now would be terrible.

She could tell he was feeling extremely guarded, but she had no idea why he felt the need to be. Were the drugs making him delusional? It wouldn’t be the first time she found herself with a house guest on a bad trip.

Brows furrowing briefly, it took her a moment to realize what he was talking about. She snorted. “I don’t mean to sound rude, but you don’t have anything to worry about from me, I wasn’t offering. Just suggesting that you inform a good friend of yours and have them help to keep you on the straight and narrow.” 

“I understand fully.” There was a strange twinge inside his chest, a familiar feeling. The bad cocaine must of triggered himself from inside. The twinges soon evolved into more painful strokes of pain, making him grit his teeth. No, he needed to get out of here before the bloodbath occurred. Of course, Shady had more control by now to not outright murder anyone. 

However, if he was getting a reaction from some measly cocaine, it would be best to just go. Not to mention that transforming in a well populated, enclosed area such as a party would go horrifically wrong.

Shady had never seen his father’s human form, if he even had one. Some werewolves refused to use it and eventually the ability to do so would weaken, giving a deformed ‘human’ form if attempted (if you could even call it human; from the way it looked… no way it would be called human anymore)

Furrowing her brows, she tilted her head in bewilderment. Why would she pose a threat to him? Did people normally try to attack him? That would be terrible if that was the case! 

“It’s fine. You are acting like you’ve offended the great ancestors or something of that nature.” He stared at her with a curious expression.

He didn’t feel a bit of remorse sending her to Summer. It’s not as if he meant to send her away because he was sick of the constant hovering; not at all. Shady enjoyed her company (to which a lot of people wondered why; he didn’t get what was so strange)

Nodding, she waved at him as she started walking backwards. Stopping for a moment, she set her expression into a stern mask. “You better!” 

No one else had ever seen it besides his parents and Alcedio. Shady didn’t have anyone else to ask. Kaja didn’t seem like the type to run after discovering such a secret but keeping that to himself would be a better choice. The less anyone knew, the better.

As always, Shady buried himself in his work. He had just finished up another vehicle when the boss man called him. What could he want? Covered in oil and grease, he wiped his hands off to an extent before heading over there. 

It didn’t take him long to realize why he had been called over. He had visitors.

Haven frowned, arm stretched out and on her tip toes as she tried to reach for the pan on the top shelf. Grunting, she threw a glare over her shoulder. 

Nodding his head, he merely grunted as he got to working without so much as another glance or question. Memorizing foods came easy to him, he had to work at a food place once when he started out. Definitely too boring and a waste of his specific strengths. Shady loved having his job at the garage and would never dare try to get another one.

Grabbing his face suddenly, she pressed her nose to his, looking deep into his eyes. The action was completely innocent, she just wanted him to feel the gravity and seriousness behind her next words. 

If he had seriously damaged her, it would of ruined whatever friendship she had been trying to build with him. 

“Unless you’re planning to stick around for the rest of her life, I wouldn’t recommend you getting involved. Celeste worries enough about me as it is. I don’t need her to worry about someone else too.”

Shady didn’t know how to comfort the woman. Fiddling with the zipper on his jacket, he stared blankly at her expression.

Talking seemed to be helping to keep the tears at bay. As long as she could just keep her grip on her emotions she wouldn’t have to worry about anything. 

“Celeste told me. I am not sure whether you guys talked about it or if she asked but she typically figures these things out pretty easily. Not sure why though. I think it is a little odd.” 

He stood around awkwardly, noticing that she hadn’t even peeked at what was inside the box. 

Waving her hands rapidly at him, she shook her head. “No, it’s fine! I just didn’t expect anyone to know my birthday was today. I don’t normally tell people….” Looking down at the little box, she swallowed. “I’m going to open it now.”

Flipping it open before she lost her nerve, she felt like the wind had been knocked out of her. 

Petting the ring and tracing the inscription, she took a deep breath before looking back up at him, schooling her expression into something sly and teasing, nothing of the vast amount of emotion she was feeling inside present. 

“A ring, huh? Shady, please, are you trying to propose to me? You know my heart belongs to Summer!” 

Kaja’s facial expressions almost had him back to believe that she was okay if it hadn’t been for the shakiness in her tone of voice that brought him right back to the brink of concern. He kept his hands at his side but had the urge to reach out to her.

shadycwolfe:

Shady gave her a blank stare. Cruel? Not this again. His words always tended to come off cruel matched up with the facial expression that most were afraid to understand. Honestly, it was just his face! A neutral expression came off as angry and deadly. As annoying as it was, such a trait came in handy.

“What is your motive for assisting me? What do you gain from doing so? The same goes for you as well. You haven’t any rights to pass any sort of judgement on me either.”

Alison shook her head. “I’m not passing any kind of judgement.” She cut her eyes to the side, sighing. “For selfish reasons, to be completely honest. I feel that if I could help protect at least one person then maybe this feeling of guilt will lessen.” 

She shrugged, feeling her eyes stinging. She did her best to hold the tears back, unwilling to cry in front of someone who was practically a stranger. “Haven doesn’t need my help anymore. She’s strong enough to take care of herself now.” 

He stood around awkwardly, was she about to cry? From the looks of it, she didn’t want to cry but the tears were definitely there. 

“Unless you’re planning to stick around for the rest of her life, I wouldn’t recommend you getting involved. Celeste worries enough about me as it is. I don’t need her to worry about someone else too.”

Shady didn’t know how to comfort the woman. Fiddling with the zipper on his jacket, he stared blankly at her expression.

Lani shook her head, biting her lip. “Sorry, sorry. You just……hmm,” she paused for a moment, trying to think of a way to word what she wanted to say without coming off as rude. “I suppose it’s your expression? You seem unhappy about something.”

She felt a light blush spread across her cheeks. “Gomen, I’m just sticking my nose where it doesn’t belong again, it’s really none of my business. You can totally tell me to get lost, if you’d like.” 

Taking a moment to sigh, he shook his head as well. “No.. I understand what you’re trying to say. I look terrifying, don’t I? I assure you, it’s just my face. I’m not.. upset, angry, sad or anything of the like. My face just appears that way. I suppose that would be my father’s fault but I wouldn’t know.”

Shady had never seen his father’s human form, if he even had one. Some werewolves refused to use it and eventually the ability to do so would weaken, giving a deformed ‘human’ form if attempted (if you could even call it human; from the way it looked... no way it would be called human anymore)

All Shady could do is tremble slightly, keeping his eyes glued to the ground. He had never experienced such a reaction to coke before; there was a first time for everything. However, it had caused him to puke all over this girl’s shoes.

shadycwolfe:

“Addictions are a dangerous past time.. the moment I was aware of them, it was like I possessed and the consequences that came with the drug provided didn’t matter as long as the high came.” He could feel another wave of sickness flash through his body - another hurl from the negative reaction of his body trying to excrete the drug in any way possible.

This time around he managed to throw up in a trash can and not the girl’s shoes.

“You.. should be careful as well.. but I’m sure a girl like you.. knows better than I.”

She nodded, understanding filling her. It had been the same for her for a long time before she met Lyric, draining people left and right just for the euphoric high it gave her every time. 

Shrugging, she gave him a self loathing little smile. “I get high to a completely different kind of drug….but I haven’t used it in a long while, and that’s because I found someone who cared about me enough to make sure I never did that shit again.” 

She gave him a single nod, gesturing to himself. “That’s what you need, you know? One close friend that’s not going to take your bullshit and is going to do their best to keep you clean.”

“Different substance, same consequences. But I see where you are coming from. I am glad for you that you have someone in your life to keep you from falling off the edge.”

Shady would not blab about his personal life to a mere stranger, no matter how nice they were to him. For all he knew, Alcedio could have eyes & ears here. They managed to stay undercover for so long, blowing it now would be terrible.

Haven frowned, arm stretched out and on her tip toes as she tried to reach for the pan on the top shelf. Grunting, she threw a glare over her shoulder. 

shadycwolfe:

“You’re telling me that your sister’s actions are not out of the ordinary? This is a normal interaction with her? That’s absolutely frightening. How do you deal with such a obscene being?” Shady scrunched his nose up in disgust. Alison really was too overbearing with her sexual tendencies. 

He nodded, “That’s a simple dish to prepare. Do you do anything special to the recipe or?”

Haven shook her head, shrugging. “I don’t usually have to deal with her. I ignore her and go on with my business like she isn’t there most of the time…..” She paused and her voice lowered when she spoke the next part, hoping Alison had put her headphones back on the minute she left her room. “But when I do have to deal with her, I just remind myself that she’s my sister.”

Cocking a brow at him, she crossed her arms under her chest, leaning against the counter. “The beef are for Sinclair and the chicken are for Alison. Sinclair just likes the meat, cheese and sauce while Alison likes rice, corn and ghost peppers along with the meat, cheese and sauce.”

Shady couldn’t help but find a small smile creep onto his face. “You actually like your sister but don’t want to say it to her face. Why is that? Why do you want to hide anything from someone who loves you?” She did over do it sometimes but surely Alison’s heart was in the right place. Aside from the sexual deviancy, he had been convinced that she was nothing more than a silly pup.

Nodding his head, he merely grunted as he got to working without so much as another glance or question. Memorizing foods came easy to him, he had to work at a food place once when he started out. Definitely too boring and a waste of his specific strengths. Shady loved having his job at the garage and would never dare try to get another one.

shadycwolfe:

Kaja told him lots of things, rambling about everything that she did daily. No matter where he was, she always managed to find him no matter where he was. It worried him a little that she had his location in her mind or had he become far too predictable in his day to day life?

Shady knew better than to start doubting her now; absolutely no connection to Celeste’s father. After Celeste turned eighteen, Alcedio couldn’t do a damn thing. The fact that he hadn’t caught them yet made him glad and hoped it stayed that way.

However, Kaja’s birthday had never came up in any of the talks that she initiated with him. He’d only discovered it when Celeste mentioned it to him. She got along well with Celeste, seeing how sometimes Kaja would let herself into their home by picking the lock in which Celeste always had to get the security system when it went off every time.

 Even if she constantly came in, he’d never disable it. The moment he did something bad would happen, surely. That’s how situations tended to work. Celeste came above all else, no matter how close they were to get.

Shady didn’t know what to get the woman in all honesty. He’d picked up a shiny, little, silver ring at the store with the extra money he had earned from this week. She seemed to love shiny objects and figured it would be enough. If she wanted to wear like a necklace, he’d purchase a chain with it. He’d also gotten her initials engraved over the top of it.

It had been placed in one of those soft, velvet boxes and a red bow rested on top of it. When she found him, he’d give to her.

Sure enough, just by thinking about it she came out of nowhere with that dorky disposition and silly smile.

“I have something for you. I wasn’t sure what to get exactly. However, I do hope you like it.”

He held out the box for her to take with an awkward smile.

“Happy Birthday.”

Having spent the morning with Summer, Kaja had to let the little blonde go off to work, as much as she protested against it. She wished she could have her friend all to herself like she did when they were younger, but she knew it was a fruitless wish. Life moved on and people grew up and got responsibilities, even if she didn’t like the idea of it. 

She didn’t fret too much over the loss, however. She just figured she’d use the time away from her best friend as an opportunity to go see Shady. She hadn’t told him it was her birthday, it just wasn’t something she usually mentioned, but she loved his company just as much as she did Summer’s and the thought of spending time with him for the day brought a smile to her face. 

Of course, because she hadn’t expected him to know it was her birthday, she definitely hadn’t been expecting a gift and the little box he held out to her gave her a start. 

Heart fluttering in her chest, she was completely oblivious to the tinge of pink in her cheeks as she took the gift. Looking up to meet his gaze and then quickly away again, she ran her fingers over the velvety softness of the box, stalling for time.

“Thank you for this,” she muttered. “You didn’t really have to get me anything, I didn’t even think you knew today was my birthday…?” There was a question there. A bit of curiosity on how he had found out. 

Shady tilted his head, surprised to see such an expression on Kaja’s face. He didn’t think he’d ever seen her blush or avoid his gaze before. That meant what he did had been a good thing, right? He still didn’t understand all of the actions that she did but there was no way that her blushing would be considered a bad thing.

“Celeste told me. I am not sure whether you guys talked about it or if she asked but she typically figures these things out pretty easily. Not sure why though. I think it is a little odd.” 

He stood around awkwardly, noticing that she hadn’t even peeked at what was inside the box. 

shadycwolfe:

“I can’t do that. I’m still not the boss - I’d need his approval. Working a garage is just the same as any other job, really. As for help, I’m not working on anything huge right now - I just work on whatever they throw at me.” 

He couldn’t help but feel like Kaja just wanted to be around him. She was trying a little too hard to spend time with him. Shady didn’t understand - was he really that entertaining? 

“Stay out of trouble, Kaja. Why don’t you go spend time with your friend, Summer? I’m sure she would love to see you. You’ve been at my side for a few days straight; you don’t think she’s worried?”

“Boooooo,” Kaja pouted, mildly discouraged by his refusal. She wanted to be stubborn and just follow him around anyways, but she wasn’t familiar with his boss like she was with Summer’s and she wouldn’t want to get him in trouble. 

Puffing her cheeks up, she released the air on a sigh, crossing her arms stubbornly. “Summer is probably enjoying this period of absence, but you are correct. It has been a while since I’ve seen her, so I guess I’ll go see what she’s up to.” 

She gave him a hopeful look, green eyes wide as saucers. “We can hang out more later though, right?” 

Shady nodded, resisting the urge to pat her head. “Yes. If you’re coming over, can you please just tell me instead of letting yourself in? I don’t want to deal with the security system again. It’s meant for unwanted intruders.”

He didn’t feel a bit of remorse sending her to Summer. It’s not as if he meant to send her away because he was sick of the constant hovering; not at all. Shady enjoyed her company (to which a lot of people wondered why; he didn’t get what was so strange)

shadycwolfe:

Shady quirked his brow in an attempt to concentrate. Those were rather simple questions, he had expected something off the wall. 

“I would have to say blue, any darker shades. As for family, my mother passed, father’s location is unknown and any other family is irrelevant I believe. My sister is all that matters. Spare time? I’m.. not sure what you mean by that.” 

His face spelled confusion out vividly, looking at Kaja with the expression of a lost puppy. Aside from taking care of Celeste and working at the garage, what more did he need to be doing? 

She tilted her head at him, giving him a curious smile. Did he really not know what she meant about spare time? That made her kind of sad. It also left her feeling rather challenged. 

“You really don’t understand the concept of spare time?” 

“What more would I need to do aside from working and taking care of my sister? That seems like an extra top priority to me. I sleep and eat, is that what you mean?” He really didn’t understand what she meant. Nothing else mattered in his life, as long as Celeste had everything he could possibly give her and kept safe from real harm.