Pack Mentality // s. stilinski

Prologue (2)

Waiting at an airport was nothing new to Cadmus, but doing so under these particular circumstances, however, was. Last time, he'd been alone, semi-eager to see his family, and unaware of the rabid dangers that the world held. Now, though. Now, he was sandwiched between his father and his sister, feeling quite more alone than he should have, all too aware of what threats ran rampant in the woods back in Beacon Hills, and who knew where else.

There are dangers in your own head, Cadmus reminded himself solemnly, burrowing further into his sweater. 

It wasn't cold out in the slightest, being the end of summer in California, but the youngest Argent had still opted for heavy clothing. The weight of it gave him some pitiful sense of security, and thinking of that just made him pull the material around him tighter.

He wanted to ask when the cab would arrive, but he was too stubborn to speak out loud and seem impatient. He knew, however, that his sister wasn't, and he was patient enough to at least wait for her patience to run out.

"When will the cab get here?" she asked. "I told Lydia that we'd do something once we were back in town."

Chris Argent looked at his daughter. "Should be any minute now, sweetie."

Allison nodded, and went back to looking at her phone. Cadmus watched her out of the corner of his eye for a second before doing the same. It was funny, the way she was already making plans with friends and they'd stepped off the plane nearly an hour ago. Knowing her, she'd been making plans before they'd even gotten on the plane. And here, Cadmus hadn't even bothered to mention to Scott or Stiles that they were even back. For all he knew, they thought he was staying in France forever. 

For now, though, he wanted to be alone, and there was no point in getting the duo all bothered about his return if he wasn't even going to do anything about it. 

Loose concrete crackled underneath the weight of tires as the cab finally pulled up to the curb, signalling for them to enter. The Argent's got up, a trio of dangers, and entered the cab. It smelled of something ungodly, and Camdus scrunched his nose.

Why couldn't we have just gotten an uber? he thought to himself. Sighing quietly, he crossed his arms. He hated being at odds with his family- now he couldn't be witty out loud for fear of breaking their contract of avoidance. Being petty was so hard sometimes, honestly. 

So instead of wallowing in his amplified loneliness, Cadmus stuck his earbuds in and blasted a Spotify playlist that he was almost certain the rest of the car could hear. He noticed the looks his sister was giving him, and he recognized the way his father was wringing his hands, but he made himself care less. Now was not the time to... do whatever it was he felt like doing.

Cadmus sighed. The distance left got longer with each mile they drove.

It was going to be a long night.

* * * * *

Allison was with Lydia, and Cadmus was in his new room alone.

It was completely bare aside from the full mattress, a set of gray sheets only half put on, the rest of the bedding strewn haphazardly across the floor. He was sitting on the floor on top of the comforter, leaning back against the side of the bed. His phone was plugged into the wall next to him. He was absently playing some trivia game, not really paying attention to whether or not he knew the answers or not.

He could hear his father moving around in the kitchen, no doubt trying to recreate one of the meals they'd had in France, and no doubt failing miserably. Cadmus almost wanted to tease him about it, if only to bring a semblance of normalcy about the apartment, but he couldn't bring himself to do it.

The summer in France had been an odd one, in the way that sleeping on the couch was odd, or eating pizza for breakfast was odd. It was normal until you realized that one part of it that was off, that wasn't how it was supposed to be. And with Cadmus, it had felt like none of it was right. He felt too large now that his family was down to a count of just three, he felt too singled out now that all three of them knew about his angel, or now, the lack thereof. He almost felt too lonely in his body at times, and then he'd feel too swollen for his skin when the new powers became overwhelming. 

He'd spent most of the 'vacation' avoiding conversation, because normally his father would just try to press the matter of secrets upon him. Cadmus did not want to talk about secrets, whether or not they were old or new. He just knew that he wanted to be left alone.

At the sound of pots clattering in the kitchen, however, Cadmus knew that right now, he didn't want to be alone.

So that was how he found himself picking up his phone, and dialing the number of the only boy in Beacon Hills he knew would answer.

"Cadmus?" Stiles asked.

"Come pick me up."