The Sight (bxb)

Christmas Bonus - Part 2

He was sure that he had made the right decision, but as he looked out of the bus window at his surroundings, he was overcome with a sad feeling. Not that he had much in Manville that he was leaving behind, but the feeling of the unknown terrified him.

Ryan's whole life had been in a rut, with three points of reference - soccer, school, and his pack.

When he was a child, his life contained much more creativity, but negative experiences quickly taught him that it was easier not to stand out from the crowd, so Ryan did everything his peers did. His sweet nature made it easy for him to make friends, but none of them were close enough to make him feel bad about leaving them for a year. Most of them werewolves, so they understood his desire for a mate anyway.

Lina and Emma had walked him to the bus to say goodbye, and Tommy had come to see him the day before and helped him pack, but that was all. His teammates were disappointed to lose a player, but Ryan didn't get on with all of them, because those who wanted scholarships and a football career found it hard to understand that the dark-haired boy didn't want the same.

That left Samuel, Scar, and Roman, his classmates, with whom he occasionally met outside school, but only rarely. They couldn't go to his house because he lived in the middle of the pack, and so they never developed a relationship close enough for him to prefer the term friends to classmates.

Truth be told, his best friend was always his cousin Michael.

The thought of his favourite person involuntarily brought a smile to his face and soothed his nerves to the point where he could not only see black when he looked out of the window. His world was suddenly full of colour and Ryan found himself getting excited.

...

The first place his cousin showed him after helping him unpack in their room (Ryan was more than happy to find out they would be sharing a room as Michael was his comfort person, and he expected to have a couple of sleepless nights ahead of him as he got used to his new surroundings) was a dinner that Ryan vaguely remembered from his previous visits. Truth be told, he had visited North Hallson less than he would have liked in recent years, so he was glad to be able to spend a few months here. He hoped the change would be beneficial and decided to keep a positive attitude even though he was practically throwing himself into the unknown.

The moment he crossed the threshold of the Rock Pop Dinner, a familiar scent surrounded him, and his eyes quickly scanned the interior. He vaguely remembered spending New Year's Eve here with his parents, aunt, uncle, and Michael in the past, and even celebrating his tenth birthday here when a storm had forced them to stay longer than just for the weekend. It had been Ryan's best birthday yet and he didn't think anything could top it.

"Do you still drink decaf?" Michael asked him and he nodded. Although he doubted he'd be surprised by a vision any time soon, years of migraines had taught him not to underestimate the situation and that decaffeinated coffee was a safe choice.

"Grab a table, I'll be right over," his cousin instructed, and he made his way to one of the tables with silent approval. From this spot he could see the whole of the place and Ryan realised that he and Michael were the only wolves under 21 there at the moment, which wasn't surprising as it was a school day, and all the teenagers were at school.

Ryan had no idea why this discovery disappointed him. He hadn't expected to meet his mate on the first day he moved here. Although he was an optimist, he was not that naive and knew that he would have to make an effort to find them based on the few clues he had.

Maybe we'll meet here one day since they like coffee.

"Are you okay?" Michael asked as silence fell between them. Ryan was the more talkative of the two, as the other boy tended to keep to himself, and although he used to talk more in his cousin's company, he wasn't the one who was used to initiating conversations.