Perigee

Chapter 4

What was supposed to be my carefree childhood became muddled with my parents’ debate over what to do about, what they called, “the Stiles problem”. They did their best to hold the conversations when I was supposed to be in bed, but I often heard them. I began to feel ashamed of my friendship with Stiles. There would be times I would cry myself to sleep as Stiles rubbed my back, trying to cheer me up. Uncle Peter was in my corner for most of those arguments, but soon, my parents stopped involving him in the conversation altogether.

I stopped talking about Stiles to my classmates because they started picking on me, intentionally picking fights. I did my best to defend myself, but there were times when Stiles would either intervene in my defense, or use his magic to erase the evidence my bullies left on me to help save me from my parents’ scorn. I felt lonely. Stiles was the only friend I had, and he was the reason I couldn’t make other friends.

Elementary school transitioned into middle school. Classes got harder, my body began to change, and suddenly, girls were interesting. Navigating puberty is a tough chore for anyone. Doing it when you’re a werewolf and have a magical friend nobody else can see… that’s damn near impossible.

My first time feeling the pull of the moon was a time to be celebrated. It was like the werewolf version of a quinceañera. My parents threw a party for me. My mom baked a round, white cake, just like she had for Laura. I got a few presents from mom and dad and Uncle Peter gave me a watch that he had been given for his first time. Stiles hugged me tightly after the festivities had calmed down and I returned to my room. “Congratulations!” he cheered.

“Thanks!” I smiled, hugging him back.

“You’re one step closer to becoming the best Alpha the world has ever known!” Stiles said with a bright voice. “We just need to complete the last tasks.”

“What are they?” I asked.

Stiles frowned. “You know I can’t tell you. It’s against the rules.”

“Well… what can you tell me?”

“That I have all the faith in the world that you’ll do it!” Stiles beamed. “And… I think I figured out a few of my tattoos.”

“Good! I’m tired of rune books!” I laughed, collapsing on my bed. “So what did you figure out?”

Stiles sat beside me. I wasn’t sure, but I thought he might have blushed a bit. “Again… I can’t tell you until the time is right.”

I rolled my eyes. “Of course.”

“Hey! No attitude from you, mister!” Stiles mock-scolded. “You might be destined to be a great Alpha, but I can still take you!”

“Is that so?” I challenged, pinning him in a head lock. “I’m a bit stronger now, you know…”

“I give!” Stiles ceded. “I give! Let me go!”

Laughing, I released him. “I think you’re losing your touch.”

His eyes narrowed. “Just do your homework.”

************************************* 

Even though I had to keep Stiles a secret, he still came to school with me. At lunch, I would usually sneak away to an unused janitorial closet where he and I would talk, thumb wrestle, or cram for upcoming tests. I would always leave an empty seat behind my desk to allow him somewhere comfortable to sit. In return, he would usually kick me to keep me from falling asleep in my more boring subjects, such as Math.

Math was my least favorite subject. Especially once the alphabet became mixed with the numbers. My grades were slipping and no matter what I tried, I couldn’t grasp the concepts. Uncle Peter usually helped us with our homework after school and he did his best to help tutor me in the subject, but nearly always scraped by with a C, no matter how much effort I put into it.