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Monday, October 31st, 2011

Moon Phase - Waxing Crescent

How Shane, or his father, had gotten their hands on his phone number remained on Alex's thoughts into Sunday morning. He hadn't filled out any medical or contact paperwork after the fight at work, nor seen Shane's father in any of the places he'd been over the last week. He couldn't remember noticing his scent either, but with that, he remembered that his friends were watching for Shane, not his father.

As he pulled his phone out, he took a moment to think. Shane's family already had his number, and they knew where he lived. What would telling his friends, and potentially stressing them out as well, even accomplish at this point?

After a minute, he resolved to only tell them if they directly asked him about Shane and his family, and then saved the number into his phone.

Once Monday came, his mood perked up at Nathan's announcement of the next Mage session. "Friday will work for me," Alex said as class began, and throughout the following few hours, ideas of what could be next for the group came and went.

* * *

"No plans tonight?" Marcus asked as he and Alex were straightening the shelves of the shop.

Alex couldn't help remembering the phone call with Shane. "No. Figure I'll stay inside and play with Bailey. Or play a few games."

Marcus stayed quiet for a few moments. "Think your folks would mind if I came over?"

"They shouldn't. One of the officers Dad works with holds a party for the department every year, and he and Mom and going again."

"All night?"

"Usually."

"Then, how does six to nine sound? Catherine wants me to help her with something after my shift, and I've got some homework to finish up before tomorrow."

Alex held his initial answer off once Catherine was mentioned. "I still haven't heard a thing from her in a while."

"She's been busy. Family stuff."

How quickly his friend responded eased Alex's initial worries. "Nothing bad I hope."

"Not as far as I know. Anyway, I can spare those three hours if you'd like to hang out."

"Sure, and give Catherine my regards when you see her."

"Will do."

* * *

By the time Marcus arrived, Alex's parents had yet to leave. He'd spent some time beforehand keeping watch on the empty lot across the street. Nothing besides trick-or-treaters had passed by so far, but a part of him expected Shane to ignore their discussion and watch the house anyway. So far, the south-bound breezes hadn't confirmed he was nearby, but that still left the possibility that he was somewhere south of the house, waiting for something to react to.

Alex had also wrestled with the idea of texting Shane's father to confirm his suspicions. In the end, he didn't; for all he knew, Shane's father was on shift for the night and wouldn't know where his son was.

Marcus didn't wait until they were inside to raise a question. "Keeping an eye out for that guy?"

"Yeah. No sign of him, thankfully."

"No kidding."

Inside, Alex left Marcus to greet and talk to his folks for a bit while he got his friend a drink.

"So, are you guys going to hang around here, or...?" his mother asked as he returned and offered the second glass.

"Yeah, I think so." Marcus replied, to which Alex nodded.

"In that case, just keep the porch lights off. We'll probably be home before midnight."

"Alright." Alex said before rubbing Bailey's head. Once his folks were gone, his attention flipped to what they could do for the next few hours.

Marcus had already suggested a bit of gaming. "I did bring my laptop with me," he'd said after Alex suggested setting up his XBOX into the living room. "Why don't we get some DOOM going?"

"Vanilla, or something modded?"

"Whatever, so long as it's deathmatch."

Alex smiled. "Works for me."

It didn't take long after the start of the first match for Alex to start feeling excited as opposed to cautious; his pulse rose as he and his friend exchanged fire and claimed kills from each other.

"Hey, let's take a break for a minute." Marcus said after a quarter of an hour.

"Alright. I'm kinda hungry anyway." Alex said as he got up and made for the kitchen. While he fixed up a few things to snack on, he heard Marcus approach the kitchen, but not move beyond the dining area. "I've got plenty of food if you want something." Alex said.

"Maybe later. Thanks, though." Alex silently accepted, only for his friend to speak up again after a minute. "While we're not busy, I've been meaning to ask... Has this Shane kid pressured you in any way?"

Alex felt a chill at that question. "Recently, or...?"

"Any time since the last full moon."

For a moment, Alex wondered if this was the real reason Marcus had chosen to come over. "Aside from getting me to meet his parents, no."

"Then, have you caught him skulking around the house? You did say you were watching for him."

Damn it. "No. He was worried that I'd use tonight to shift and cause mischief."

Marcus's response was a mostly of confusion. "What?"

"I know. That's the same way I reacted." Alex continued when his friend kept quiet. "He said he believed me when I told him I wasn't going to, and had no plans of the sort, but I couldn't shake the feeling he wanted to watch me anyway."

Marcus sighed loudly. "That sounds like pressuring to me. Unless he's willing to knock that off, I'd refuse what his family is offering."

"If he makes a habit of it, sure; I have other options. Still, when he brought that up, the whole thing felt more like baseless fears than anything else."

"How ironic. He accuses you of being paranoid, then acts the same way weeks later."

"It could be his family thinking that way instead of him, but if not, yeah."

"What makes you say that?"

Alex stopped himself from replying right away. "Just a feeling I got after talking to his dad. He seemed the most concerned about the possibility of trouble with the police."

"Can't say I'm surprised. What was he like, though?"

"Really relaxed and direct, most of the time. He only raised his voice when Shane and I started arguing. Hated how nervous that made me feel."

"He must be used to dealing with werewolves if that happened."

Alex debated saying Shane's father was also a werewolf. "Maybe. I was a guest at the time though, and they did feed me after I lost my catch."

Marcus hummed in response, and then kept quiet while Alex went back to snacking on his choice of foods. Only when his friend refilled his empty glass did he speak again. "So, if you had to make a choice, say, by tomorrow, would you get meat from them or keep looking for a supplier?"

Alex stayed quiet until it felt like the right time to answer. A period of what felt like minutes, and the longer he stayed quiet, the tighter his chest got.

"Them," he eventually said. "If what I got myself was useless or I didn't get it in time, I'd have to hunt anyway, and the places I've used are tightening security or pulling the animals."

Marcus responded after a few seconds. "Can't say I blame you if that's the case."

Despite hearing no hint of concern in his friend's voice, Alex tried to assure him anyway. "Nathan offered to help, but I'd rather not get you guys involved. I'll keep looking for an alternative after this next full moon and if I find one, I'll cut them off and that'll be that."

"Sounds good. Good luck with that, man."

Alex fist-bumped Marcus after noticing he'd held a fist up for him, and for the remainder of his friend's stay that night, the only things on their minds were the games they choose to play.