The Monsters Inside and Out (Scott Howl x Depressed Reader)

69. Changes Being Made

You wake up to the sound of your dreaded alarm. You groan and lift yourself out of bed, getting ready for the day. Once you step out of the bathroom, you see Scott sleeping peacefully on your bed. You smile to yourself and slowly shake him awake. Once you get him half awake, he rubs his eyes and smiles sleepily at you. You scratch him behind his ear until he fully wakes up, and he goes to the bathroom. While he's in there, he remembers his toothbrush is at home, as well as his family he needs to drive to school, and his clothes he needs to wear. He rushes out of the bathroom and ushers you to follow him. You quickly get dressed and rush into his car. He starts it up and drives home, running inside. You slowly follow and stand in the living room as he gets ready. His cousins and siblings all stare at you as you wait awkwardly. His grandma approaches you, and asks, "How was your Valentine's Day?" You smile, "It was amazing." "Scott was very nervous about it all, he told me everything." She pinches your cheek and walks away. You hear the sound of Scott's feet thumping down the stairs and he comes into view, wearing a new outfit. "Alright, I'm ready, let's go," he shouts, exiting the house. You and the Wolfpack follow suit. You sit in the front, and the others pile in the back, and you're off.

Scott pulls into the parking lot of the school and finds a place to park. Everyone gets out of the car, but before you can, Scott tells you to wait. You watch as he gets out of the car, walks around it, and opens your door for you. You smile as you step out and take his hand, walking into the school. As you walk with Scott everyone is happy to see him, as per usual, and he's happy to see everyone too. But now, it's a different kind of happy. You feel as though his happiness is something that he doesn't have to fake anymore, at least for the time being. And that makes you happy. You and Scott end up meeting with Vicky and Brian.

You see Brian give Scott a look and Scott says, "Hey Brian, uhh.. How are you?" He sounds nervous. Brian rolls his eyes and replies, "I'm good Scott. Hey, Damien wanted to talk to you about something. Will you come with me?" "What does he want to talk about?" Brian sighs and grabs Scott's wrist and practically drags Scott away. Once they're out of sight, you look back at Vicky to see her staring at you, quickly looking away. You awkwardly say, "I wonder what Damien wants..." Vicky sighs, "He.. Doesn't want anything." You raise an eyebrow in suspicion. She continues, "He wanted us to be alone together." "Why?" She looks you in the eyes, and suddenly starts crying. "Because I'm so sorry, (Y/N).. I was so mean to you that one day and for no good reason. I know you, I know how you are, but I still couldn't control myself. And I hurt everyone else too! I've been so horrible to everyone, not even taking into consideration how they feel about any of it, just because I can't get over this lonely feeling in the pit of my stomach. And the worst thing is that I hurt Scott. He's the best friend anyone could ever have, and I've made him so miserable!" She puts her face in her palms as she lets out silent sobs. You wrap your arms around her the best you can and say, "I can only speak for myself when I say I forgive you. I... I honestly don't even know what else to say. All you can do is improve. You just have to.. Hell, even I don't know.. I'm sorry, Vicky." She pulls herself out of your grasp. She says, "No, (Y/N). It's okay, really. And I know. I need to work on myself before I work on anyone else." You smile at her, and she smiles right back. You say, "So, you're just really lonely? That's why you act like that?" She sighs, "It's a lot more complicated than you think, but.. I don't want to talk about it right now." You put your hand on her shoulder, "I understand." The bell rings, dismissing you to your lockers, and you and Vicky part ways.

Throughout the day, you notice that your friends have started acting a bit different. It seems that after the intervention, things have changed. During multiple classes, all your friends have checked up on you and/or Scott. Polly seemed pretty concerned for him in history, saying he hasn't texted or even talked to her at all. You reassure her that he's fine, and she leaves it alone. In Spells:101, Brian scratches your head like he would to Scott and asks, "How you doing, buddy?" With a soft smile you tell him, "Good." And man, does it feel good to say that and actually mean it. After that class and English Curses, you go back to your locker to put your things away in preparation for lunch. You put in your combination and open it, only for it to be slammed back shut by a familiar red demon. He holds your locker shut and rubs his eyes with his thumb and forefinger. He says, "Look. I guess you actually mean something to that fuzzball Scott. And I guess you've 'inspired' him to become a better person and overcome his fears or whatever. So listen," he makes intense eye contact with you, "Thanks for getting the old Scott back. He was definitely different, and I didn't like it, no one did. So yeah, there you go." Without saying anything else, he walks away with his hands in his pockets. You're happy that he's thankful for you, but also pissed that he's still an asshole to you despite that. You just brush it off and go to lunch.

After an unsuccessful dodgeball game, a boring science class, a study hall, and the final class of the day, it's finally time to go home. Despite the offers for rides, you decide to just walk home by yourself to appreciate the silence. You see your mom's car in the drive way, but it doesn't really bother you this time around, and you head inside. Once you shut the front door she says, "Hey! How was school today?" "It was good." "It's okay if it wasn't, you know." "Yeah, I know. But it was good." "Okay. Remember, you can talk to me about anything." "Uh-huh." You go to your room, and after shutting the door, you give it the middle finger, directing it towards your mom. You collapse into bed and do your homework. After awhile, you eat dinner and get ready for bed. You enter your bathroom and look at your still broken mirror. It has remained untouched since that day you broke it, because of your stupid feelings. Normally, you'd just ignore it, because you can't be bothered. But if Scott is willing to change for the better, then you outta try to do the same. You pick up a piece of the broken glass, and realize you have no idea what you're doing. You ultimately decide to put the glass down and deal with it tomorrow. You crash into bed, and fall asleep soon after.