His Mother Interrupts, Speaking Of Which, Jr, Go Take A Shower And Change. Youre Disgusting And Youre

His mother interrupts, “Speaking of which, Jr, go take a shower and change. You’re disgusting and you’re getting filth all over my couch…” Jr gets up immediately, “Sorry… Come on…” You blink, “You’re going to take a SHOWER. I’m NOT coming with you.” Jr rolls his eyes, “You can hang in my room 'til I get out, just come on…” You glare. He frowns, “Please…” You sigh and get up, “Fine. But if you walk out naked, or with a towel on, or without a shirt-” He laughs, “I get it! I’m not…” He heads down the hall. You follow, “Where is your room?” He slips in a door, “Right here.” You stop, blinking. You’re not sure WHAT you had been expecting, but it’s definitely not this… His room is…. Not much bigger than yours…. There’s a bed, a dresser, and a closet. There’s not even a bedside table or a lamp. Admittedly, the bed itself is nice. It’s a good size, with thick covers and soft pillows, but even that isn’t as expensive as you would have thought it would be. Nothing in here is even name brand. You always figured all rich people had name brand EVERYTHING… You frown, “Where’s the built in bathroom? Aren’t you supposed to, like, have one connected to every room or something?” Jr laughs, “What? No. Why would I need my own bathroom?” You look at him, “I… Don’t know… Because your…. Rich?...” Jr laughs again, “Just because my parents are rich doesn’t mean they’ve doused me with lavish everything…” He goes to the dresser and starts pulling out clothes. You watch, “They could at least give you something better than an old, wore out jacket…” He turns and glares, “If I WANTED something different I could have asked for it. I liked that jacket.” You lift your hands in surrender, “Sorry for mentioning it… Grab your clothes so you don’t have an excuse to come back in here naked…” Jr smirks at that and finishes pulling out his pants and underwear. You find yourself looking away. You hear him open his closet door and some ruckus as he jerks a shirt off a hanger, then he walks over to you. You look at him. He pauses, “You can go in you know… Make yourself comfy. I don’t mind if you sit on my bed. There’s really no where else to sit anyway…” And with that, he’s gone. You stare after him. Why is he suddenly being so nice? Is it because he’s in familiar territory, or did that enclosure change him? You shrug to yourself and go to his bed. Guess now all there is to do is wait…

You scream and he twists, as if he's trying to run, even though he’s in the air. A net shoots out, catching him perfectly. He wails as it captures him, yanking him back. He slams into the wall and thrashes, struggling desperately to release himself. The guards help you up and, as you watch Jr being dragged onto the wall, tears running down his cheeks, it clicks. ‘He’s a werewolf…’ Terror immediately grips you. They can’t find out. They can’t put him down there. He’s not a monster. He’s not going to hurt anyone. What if they find out who his family is? You pale, your mind immediately going to Jr’s little brother. He wouldn’t last a DAY in there… You whirl on the guards, “We’re so sorry! We just wanted to see the city!”, you break down crying, unable to hold yourself together, “Please don’t punish us! We’ll go back to the city! We won’t come back anymore! We promise! Please-” “Calm down ma’am.” You sniffle and the guard continues, “We’re just gonna take you in, get you tested, to make sure you’re not wolves. But you DID break a major law. This is going to hold a hefty fine.” Your eyes flick to Jr. He’s curled tightly in on himself, trembling violently. Why the Hell did he have to come up here when he KNEW he was in so much danger. What kind of idiot, BEING A WEREWOLF, would go to the one place he SHOULD BE AVOIDING. You start crying all over again, “Please, we’re not werewolves! We’re just dumb kids! We just wanna go ho-ome!” I’m sorry ma’am, if you’ll just come with us, we’ll test you real quick, then set you free…” When it becomes obvious that bawling isn’t getting you out of it, you start fighting desperately. You can’t let Jr be taken. Why had you been so stupid!? Why hadn’t you just MADE him stay in town. Why didn’t you just FOLLOW THE RULES? The guard slams you to the ground and you let out a cry. “Please stop fighting ma’am. This’ll only take a second. If you’re clean, you have nothing to fear…” And like that, you’re dragged inside the tower.

He shakes his head, “I COULD bust him out and he could hide for the rest of his life… He told me no. I’m going to tell father. He’s… Powerful… He’ll work some of his political magic and Jr will walk free…” Oh… You forgot that his dad is the leader of the most powerful mafia in the city… “Can he do that?” “Yes.” Your first reaction is relief. Then annoyance. Why the Hell does he get to have a rich and powerful dad? What a prick! He’s really gonna go his entire life not having to worry about anything because if anyone does anything he doesn’t like his dad’ll just fucking KILL THEM ALL. You resist the urge to roll your eyes. ‘Calm down. Be happy for him. Be happy. It’s not his fault he was born into a powerful family, though he obviously takes advantage of it, but still. At least he’ll get out. Be happy for him…’ Out loud you say, “When will he get out?” Jr's brother shrugs, “It may take time…” “He may not HAVE time…” He glares, “Listen, I’m doing the best I can for him. This is what he wants. To be able to go back to the city and LIVE A LIFE. Would you like me to drag him out, kicking and screaming, and force him into hiding for the rest of his life?” You fluff, “No! I… I’m sorry. I’m just worried. I want him to be ok…” “I do too… I’ll keep visiting him. If things get bad, he can choose to leave at any time and I’ll get him out…” You nod, “Ok…” “Let’s get home… Before they notice us…” You nod and you both head home. You don’t know wether to be relieved… Or apprehensive. Are you really just going to let a monster back into the city? Especially with the government trying SO HARD to wipe it clean? But there’s no going back now. It’s not like you could stop it if you wanted to. Jr’s dad is way too powerful for you to do anything. Honestly, no matter how much you debate about it in your head, you know you want him back. No matter how much of a threat he might be, he’s still becoming your friend and you think he’s a good person. You would never leave him in there… You look at his brother, “Is Jr… Also a changeling?” He shakes his head, “No. He’s a werewolf. He’s a little different than most werewolves. The type he is can learn to not change on the full moon. They can control themselves. And when they DO turn, they can fight for control…” You look away, “But they have to fight for it…” “Yes. But Jr has been a werewolf for his whole life. He’s very adept at it. I don’t think he even has to concentrate to stay in control anymore…” You nod, “Does he infect others?” “No. Well. If he pierced the skin he would. Like most werewolves. But Jr doesn’t. Like I said. He’s in control…” You nod again and the rest of the walk is in silence…

Jr’s home is very large and very nice, as expected from someone as powerful as his dad. Everything is in pristine condition. It’s almost uncomfortable how perfect everything is. In each room you pass, there’s at least one bell, sitting on a small table. Jr and his family go to the living room and you follow. His mother sits on the edge of the couch. His father stays standing. Jr sits comfortably on a different couch and pats the seat beside him. You go and sit by him. He leans back, pulling his feet under him. It’s such a comfortable and vulnerable position, you almost feel like you should look away. Surely you shouldn’t be seeing Jr like this, who always acted strong and cold? Surely he’d be embarrassed? But he doesn’t seem embarrassed at all. He watches you, unblinking. You sit awkwardly until he breaks the silence, “I guess you decided I wasn’t HORRIBLE… For a monster?” Immediately you want to slap him. Arrogant little prick! You JUST got out and you’re ALREADY trying to provoke me? But you smile a little anyway, “I…  Haven’t decided yet…” You shrug and look at the floor nervously. Really, if you’re honest with yourself, you have. But you’re not confident enough to admit it yet... He watches you. You don’t look up to see him, but you can feel his eyes burning into you. “Then why’d you wait for me? Why’d you send me messages? Why’d you bring Sam to me?” You look up, “His name’s Sam?” He blinks, then shrugs, “Yeah…” You frown, “Oh… I’ve known him for so long and never even thought of asking his name…” Jr smirks, “Well you ARE a little scatterbrained…” You glare, “You literally JUST got out and you’re already being a jerk…”

Once you reach the edge he urges you close. You look over and gasp. There’s a huge trench right inside the wall, full of men, women, and children, presumably werewolves. The inside edges of the trench are lined with stairs and thin pathways, houses dug into the side of them. The adults are all at the bottom, digging.The dirt is loaded into carts that are taken in underground tunnels further into the city. The city itself is massive, past the trench are houses upon houses. They’re shabby and broken up, you can tell even from the height you’re at. People, the size of ants, bustle around. Most seem to be working. Some building houses, some draggin carts in and out of tunnels, Some collecting those dead or sick off the streets. Your lips twist at that sight. The middle of the city is full of farmland, better looking, though still small, houses dotted everywhere. They seem to have an abundance of food, they’re not lacking in work, why are they all dying? You decide it’s probably from overcrowding. Though the city is big, the infection is bigger. It has spread all across the world. It’s so thick, even in just the seven cities that send their wolves here, that there’s simply no room. Streets are small, houses crammed everywhere, new ones constantly being built, and children are continuously being born. With a city so big, it simply would be unrealistic to think no one would have kids and, unfortunately, some species of werewolves have litters. Children run everywhere, playing, working, and dying. Even with them being so small, you can see their bad condition. Their clothes are poor too. Almost all of the children are naked, and some of the adults. Those who do have clothes look as though they’ve been wearing the clothes they were brought in since they got there, have hand made clothes, or have rags that barely cover them. You squint and lean further out, struggling to see. Are they all… Starving? You jerk back and look at Jr. He’s watching you. You point out to the farms, “They have an abundance of food! Why are they so thin?” Jr sighs, “The food isn’t for them. They’re given rations according to where they work. All the food they grow is shipped out and sold. They’re given the leftover. The stuff no one wants.” Your lips twist, “I don’t believe you.”

Sam isn’t at school the next day. You figure he’s probably with the family, celebrating Jr’s return. You resist the urge to snort. You’re not even sure they would celebrate that. They aren’t exactly the nicest people…. But, you’re sure, at least Sam would want to celebrate it… You sigh. You’re really glad they get to reunite with each other and be happy and all that good stuff. But you’re also really bored… You didn’t realise how close you and Sam had gotten nor how much he entertained you, until he didn’t show up today. You sigh again and rest your chin in your hand. You will be happy for them and let them have their family time, but you’ll also be relieved when they’re back to entertain you….