For Want of Change

C1: Oh to be Invisible

Rilen rolled over and straight out of bed, wishing that he hadn't had any dreams at all, and hoping to forget this one very soon. His mama called him down to breakfast, which Rilen could smell from his room in the attic, and couldn't wait to eat. He made his way from his room into the bathroom and stripped down to his underwear as he turned the shower on and waited for the minute it would take for the shower to warm up. As he waited he went about counting the scars all up and down his ghostly pale arms and legs, retelling the cautionary tales they told as he went. Once the shower was heated he finished stripping and climbed in, taking a short but thorough shower, making sure to wash his obnoxiously curly hair so that it was easier to brush once he got out. The sound of water hitting tile stopped as he turned the shower off and grabbed his towel off the rack, wrapping it around his waist as he stepped out of the shower and headed for the sink. He turned the water on and washed his toothbrush before adding the toothpaste and adding water to that too. He turned the water off and brushed his teeth as he counted the scars mapping his chest and the stories those told. He spits out his toothpaste and washes the brush while using his other hand to grab the brush for his hair. Once both of his hands are free he brushes his hair out and gets to work braiding the back before wrapping it in a bun, letting his bangs fall to cover his eyes. He shuffled out of the bathroom and into his room, walking into his closet to pull out a pair of underwear and clothes from his dresser. Once he had his underwear on he pulled a black sleeveless tank top on and slid his legs into a pair of black cargo pants, wrapping the school mandatory dress shirt around his waist in a half-assed attempt at following the rules, before wrapping his choker around his neck, hiding the single scar that lies underneath. After he had his socks on he took his platform boots in hand and trudged his way downstairs where his ma was the only thing other than food waiting for him.

" Where's dad?"

" Had an emergency at work, one of the new boys got a palette wrong so they have to redo the whole gown by Friday."

Rilen winced as he loaded his plate with bacon and sausage, as well as pancakes and strawberries, his favorite. He sat at the table as he and his mom had a conversation over breakfast about random topics that came up, like his dad or his nephew, who had recently broken his first bone, a right of passage for many young and stupid werewolves. Rilen checked the time as he fastened up his boots and saw that he had to leave soon, so he gave his ma a kiss on the cheek and grabbed his bag before heading out and hoping in his silver truck that his dad had gotten him. The drive to Sophia's house was quiet, but that was because it was 6:45 in the morning and Rilen has vocal paralysis, he also didn't talk much anyway, Sophia was much more chatty. Jazz played softly as he pulled up to the gated community that Sophia called home, ringing the buzzer to let her know he was outside before leaning back and plugging in his aux cord, which Sophia had claimed to be hers the first time she stepped foot into his car.

Sophia came running through the gate, long red hair flowing behind her as she went and speedily climbed in while demanding that Rilen hurry up and drive already.

Rilen backed out as fast as he could before tearing off down the road, well above the speed limit. They stayed going that speed for about twenty minutes, drifting around curves and flying over bumps in the road, Sophia whooping, and hollering as Rilen grinned like a mad man. They did slow down eventually, not wanting to get pulled over at the police stop a little ways ahead on the road. The rest of the drive was much calmer, aside from the loud music Sophia was blasting through Rilen's speakers. When they pulled into the school parking lot students turned and looked before going back about their business. Sophia turned her music off and unplugged her phone as she grabbed her bag from the back seat where she threw it. They climbed out of the car and made their way behind the school, where Merlin and Tray were waiting for them in a shaded patch of trees that none of the other students would go into, for fear of catching what they called "The Ghost's Curse". Rilen used to go around hitting people he found in the trees without them noticing, and then he'd follow them around school and pinch them. Once Rilen was situated he looked over his three friends, checking to make sure they were ok without asking or being overbearing.

He sat silently listening to his friends happily conversing about what they'd done over the weekend, not wanting to join in but knowing he'd be pulled in at some point, so he started adding his own commentary as it went farther along. Soon the dreaded bell of death went off to signal that class was starting soon and all who were not present in the next five minutes were late. The four got up and went their separate ways, promising to see each other later. Rilen didn't bother to stop at his locker, already having all his stuff on him and ready.

Rilen made it to class and slipped in unnoticed by all, silently making his way to his seat, blending in and looking to be gone to everyone in the room. Once the final bell rang and everyone was seated the teacher entered the room, calling for everyone to quiet down so that he could take attendance and give out the morning announcements. Once he had run through the list, Rilen saying nothing and being marked absent, the class began with a new arrival.

He was dark-skinned, with short red crew-cut hair and dazzling brown eyes, complimenting his big smile, something that puzzled Rilen seeing as it was both a Monday and a school day. He wore the school dress shirt with only the top button being undone, but that might just be because he couldn't fit the one-size too small shirt around the meat of his chest. He was built like a street fighter, lean but top-heavy with the muscles, not like he was too jacked though, in Rilen's humble opinion. His pants were black with random holes that looked like they were put there after the garment had finished being sewed. He wore expensive-looking sneakers, Nikes of some kind. Overall he looked well put together and well off, didn't mean Rilen would give him more attention than he was worth.

Maybe if he had paid a little more attention, he wouldn't be in the situation he found himself in. After the teacher stopped talking, he explained that the new boy, whose name was Kel, could sit in Rilen's seat since he was never in class, and they hadn't gotten his desk into the class since he switched with such short notice. Kel nodded and made his way over, launching his bag at what he thought was empty space, thinking it would land in or on the other side of his chair. What he actually launched his bag at, was the side of Rilen's head. Rilen was currently on the floor, having been knocked out of his chair by the force of the throw and the weight of the bag. The class was silent, and Rilen really wished it had stayed that way.

The first one to break the silence was the teacher.

" Mr. Morse, so nice of you to join us, are you alright?" Rilen was very familiar with the look of contempt and indifference, it was the look all teachers gave "misbehaving Omegas". He didn't care if Rilen was ok or not, he was required to ask. Sadly, even if he didn't care, the boy standing over him did, and that meant the unending questions about his head. The bag was heavy, but not so heavy that it would give him a concussion or anything, it smarted like a bitch but Rilen would be fine, he told the boy as much. He got this look back, the same look he got from anyone he didn't know when he got hurt, the "don't lie to me, you're weak and can't handle pain" look. Rilen stood up from the floor, collected his things, flipped off the room and everyone in it, and walked out.

Kel watched the black-haired boy go with confusion, maybe he should go after him to make sure he was ok. As he moved to do so though, the teacher shook his head with a sigh, telling him to sit down in Rilen's, the boy who just left, seat. Class slid by like a snail on ice, feeling like it was barely moving at all. When the bell finally did ring, the teacher waved him over.

" I apologize about the boy from earlier, he's a bit of a trouble maker, your desk'll be here tomorrow, so you'll be in the back row instead of in his seat."

" What's with that boy?"

" He's one of the Omegas from the Rain pack, you know how it is, now get going before your late for class Mr. Faith."

Kel waved goodbye to the teacher, heading down the hall to french class, looking to see if he could spot Rilen, wanting to know if the Omega had gone to the nurse and gotten looked at, after all, his bag would be pretty heavy for an Omega. For the rest of the day, Kel searched for the Omega, wanting to apologize for launching his bag at him. No matter how hard he looked though, he couldn't find the smaller boy. Kel thought he must have skipped school after what had happened, probably from embarrassment, Omegas were emotional creatures after all. Once the final bell rang, Kel made one more search around before he made his way to the parking lot, where his packmates were waiting with one of the cars to take some of them home. As he was speeding down the steps he caught sight of that raven hair, undone and flowing behind Rilen as he ran over to a silver truck at the edge of the parking lot, he would have gone over, if not for the truck currently honking at him, two betas and four gammas hanging out of it, yelling at him to hurry up.