Lycanthropy and Me: The First Semester(mlm)

Day 54, Wednesday. Waxing Gibbous (Part Four)

Day 54, Wednesday. Waxing Gibbous (Continued)

"Don't you think it's weird?"

Hunter slammed his locker shut.

He didn't want to have this conversation with Matt, or any of his friends for that matter, but it seemed there was no getting around it.

He turned around slowly. "What's weird?"

"Hayes." Matt's acne-scarred face was scrunched in irritation. Hunter had known Matt his whole life, from the playpen to the present. And if he knew anything about Matt, it was that he could never keep his mouth shut.

"He treats you like, I don't know, you belong to him or something."

Hunter found himself getting angry, but couldn't quite pinpoint why. "He's just...protective I guess. If you spent more time with him you'd see he's not that bad."

Matt rolled his eyes. "Yeah sure If he ever came to hang out with us. He never comes to anything and he's always dragging you away when he does."

"Colt's not good with crowds."

"He's not good with anyone."

Hunter heaved a heavy sigh. "Oh, for the love of--I'll talk to him, okay? Now can we talk about something else?"

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"He's right," Colton said flatly.

"What?" Hunter whipped around to face him. His voice sounded louder than usual as they stood in one of the museum's gallery rooms.

A nearby patron gave Hunter a look of disapproval, and Colton gave them an evil glare.

Mildly embarrassed, Hunter turned his attention back to his boyfriend. "Are you saying you don't want to hang out with my friends?" He asked in a hushed tone.

"I'd rather not have this conversation in public, Hunter."

When Hunter looked as if he was going to get upset, Colton huffed. "But if we must, then fine. Frankly, I don't see how you enjoy spending time with them. They're rude and childish and I'd prefer not to see them at all. Especially Matthew."

"But Matt's my best friend." Hunter stared at him in disbelief. "Since we were--"

"In diapers, yes, I'm aware." Colton's temper flared, a hint of jealousy edging in that went undetected. "But maybe it's time you let go of him."

For a moment, Hunter felt unbalanced.

"Wh--Are you saying--"

"People get older. They change." Colton cut him off. "We're in high school now. Soon we'll be in college. We'll have new opportunities. New friends."

"But..." Hunter shook his head, trying his best to focus. "But I don't want--"

Colton put his hands on Hunter's shoulders. "You need to let go of them, Hunter. You don't need them anymore. You only need me."

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With hindsight, Hunter could see what his friends had known the whole time. The gaps in his memory had been slowly disappearing. Now he could see the warning signs, the odd behavior.

It seemed so obvious now. It wasn't normal to spend all your free time with one person. It wasn't normal to let them pick and choose where you could go, and who you could talk to. Back then he thought Colton was being protective.

He knew better now.

And based on how effortlessly he had been kidnapped, Hunter knew if he didn't act fast, he would soon be back under Colton's control.