Imperfect Life: Arc 1

Chapter 22

Brandon slowly woke up in the morning. He somehow miraculously did not fall onto the floor while sleeping on the couch the previous night. He felt Crys' arm still draped over him, though it wasn't as werewolf-like as it was last night. Brandon could see that Crys had on her blue hoodie like usual, and he quietly thanked Crys' necklace for actually working. Brandon stayed still. He wanted to get up and go make himself something to eat, but he also didn't want to wake up Crys. Luckily for him, not much later Crys began to stir and wake up as well.

"Morning." Brandon said once Crys seemed to be a little more awake.

Crys took her arm off of Brandon quickly, seemingly embarrassed, and sighed. "Morning." Crys said back in a tired tone.

Now that Crys was awake, Brandon sat himself upright on the couch. "You know, I'm really glad I gave you that necklace."

Crys rubbed her eyes and looked at Brandon with a confused glance. "Why?"

"Well, you know." Brandon said, feeling a bit awkward.

Crys took a moment to figure out what Brandon was saying. "Oh, hoodie. Got it." Crys said. "Yeah. Me too." Crys went quiet for a moment. "You okay after yesterday? You know, after the whole possession thing?" Crys asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine." Brandon said. "And hey, it's over now, so no need to worry about it. No more reflection."

"Happy for that." Crys said in a very tired and slightly annoyed tone.

Both friends were quiet for a second.

"I'm hungry." Crys said, breaking the silence. "What's for breakfast?"

"Welp, let's go find out." Brandon said.

Both of them got up and left the room to go grab some food. The rest of the day went by uneventfully, much to the enjoyment of Brandon and Crys. That night, the two of them went out to the abandoned stadium and sat on the roof. It was a peaceful night, and a very quiet one at that.

"Hey Crys?" Brandon asked.

"Yeah?" Crys responded.

"You're a good friend, you know that?" Brandon said.

"Uh, thanks." Crys said in a bit of a confused tone. "Any particular reason you say that?"

"Not really." Brandon replied. He paused a moment to find his words. "Well, maybe." He then said. "I guess what I'm trying to say is thank you for saving me all those times. The cliff, those crooks, that evil me, you know... " Brandon leaned his head against Crys' arm.

"Well," Crys started saying, trying to think of something to say while she spoke, "I can't just let you fall off a cliff or something." Crys said jokingly. "And in case you haven't noticed, you're kind of my only friend."

"Pretty mean to Tomas, don't you think?" Brandon asked.

"Well, I mean," Crys started saying in a defensive tone, "we just really talk in school, you know? He isn't like, you or anything. Sure he's a nice person, but like, he doesn't know I'm a werewolf and we don't really hang out or anything. And also..." Crys continued.

"Alright, alright, I get it." Brandon cut Crys off. "It was just a joke."

"Oh." Crys said flatly. "Sorry." "No, you're fine. I get it though. I'm the only one you really know, right?" Brandon said.

"Yeah, something like that." Crys replied. "You're just the only person I really feel like myself around, if that makes sense." Crys' tone dropped to be more reflective than joking. "I mean, look at me for crying out loud! I have a muzzle and claws! I've got a tail for goodness sake! I just...it feels like you're the only person who understands."

"You haven't told anyone else though, so of course I'm the only person who understands." Brandon said matter of factly.

"I know, I know." Crys paused a moment, letting the silence sit. "Back before I met you," Crys started to explain in a much more reminiscent tone, "before I was a werewolf, I had a group of friends. They were, uh," Crys struggled to find a proper word to describe her old friends, "nice-ish, I guess. We were all pretty bad, but with each other we were all kind of on good terms. They weren't like you though. I could never open up to them like I do with you. I wouldn't even dream of telling them my feelings or anything. You on the other hand, I just feel like I can be myself around you. I'm sure I've said that before, but it's true." Crys said. She looked down, almost pained by the memories of her old friends.

"Oh." Brandon said. It was all he could think to say. How could he respond to what Crys said?

"I'm sorry." Crys said, picking up her head and looking over at Brandon. "That was a bit much, wasn't it?"

"No, no. You're fine." Brandon said. "You are a really good friend though."

"Thanks." Crys said with a slight smile.

The two of them talked a bit more about school the next day and then went home and slept. The next day was just a Monday, and to both Brandon and Crys' surprise, it was extremely uneventful and actually okay. The day went by quickly, and nothing special happened whatsoever.