Protecter

THREE

CHAPTER THREE
( SECRETS )

"I WAS WRONG."
Alex chuckles nervously. "Yeah."
"How'd you find out?"
"Devon went through the Dread Doctors lair," she explains. "Apparently, no one went down there after Theo was sent to hell. There, he found a file on Theo and it said that Devon was his biological father."
Hayden raises an eyebrow. "What does this mean?"
Alex shrugs, looking at the moon, now that the sun was set. "We're not sure. We think Theo will get powers. We aren't sure what, but his mother was a witch and his father is a seven thousand year old demigod. If he gets any, he'll be powerful and his powers will be difficult to control."
Hayden looks at her. "You know you need to tell him."
Alex sighs and looks down. "I know." She looks to Hayden. "But it isn't my choice. It's Devon's."
Hayden's eyes become concerned. "If he finds out on his own, he'll hate you."
Alex nods softly. "I know." She smiles sadly. "But, I'm used to it."
Hayden's expression becomes sorrowful. "How can you say that?" She sighs. "He won't hate you forever."
"He might."
Hayden shakes her head. "He won't. He'll eventually get it. It's like choosing one son over the other, you can't do it." She hesitatingly grabs Alex's hand.
Alex smiles at their hands and intertwines there fingers. "Thank you," she says softly.
Hayden smiles in response. "You also said your friends held a party every year for you. Why don't you go?"
Alex shrugs. "Maybe I'll go this year. It's in a few months."
Hayden looks at the time. "It's late. Why don't we go back?"
Alex nods. "Okay."

+++

Peter swings through the city, thinking about the new kids. They were strange. He notices two girls on a roof. One of them is Alex.
He swings to them. "What are you ladies doing up here?"
Alex turns to him. "Spider-man? We were just talking."
He nods. "Oh, okay. Be careful."
She nods. "Of course."
He swings away.

+++

The next week goes by without much happening. Hayden and Alex get closer.
Alex, Theo, Gabe, and Stiles walk into the Decathlon room. They sit.
Mr. Harrington claps his hands to get everyone's attention. "Kids! Because we won the Decathlon, we get a field trip in two days. We are going to-" he pauses for dramatic flair- "the Avengers Compound!!!"
  Everyone's eyes widen. They start to talk amongst themselves.
  Peter turns to Ned. "What am I going do?"
  Ned furrows his brows. "Dude, I get to see we're you work and practically live."
  Peter rolls his eyes. "They're going to embarrass me."
  "Yo, Parker," Flash yells. "Can't wait to see you were lying about the internship?"
  Alex rolls her eyes. "What happens if he actually has one?"
  Flash huffs. "I will be very surprised. I mean it's different if Peter got in if he was in college, he's smart, but Tony Stark does not look through high school grades to see who's the smartest." He shrugs. "So how would you have gotten an internship?"
Peter shrugs. "I honestly have know idea how I got it."
Flash rolls his eyes. "I'll believe it when I see it."

+++

The pack, minus Theo, are all hanging out in the living room, talking and drinking. Alex is laughing at something Stiles said when Theo walks in, smelling of anger, with a glass of brandy in his hand.
He slams a paper folder on the coffee table, rendering the pack silence. "What is this?" Hayden and Alex glance at each other. Hayden concerned about the girl she developed a liking towards. "What the hell," he points to the folder, "is this?"
Alex takes a deep breath. "You went through my room," she states.
Theo leans back and nods slowly, sniffling. "So you knew." He points to Devon as he turns to him. "And I'm guessing, you knew too." Devon nods. Theo nods slowly and stands up straight. He runs his hand over his face. "Wonderful." He walks away to his room.
The pack is silent.
Stiles raises an eyebrow. "What the hell just happened?"
Alex quickly finishes her wine. "Why don't you take a look at the folder?" She walks to Theo's room.
  Stiles slowly grabs the folder and opens it. He reads aloud. "Theo Raeken: parents, Amelia Raeken and," he pauses and looks up at Devon, "Devon, son of Zeus and Menalippe."
  Everyone turns to Devon. He stands and scratches the back of his neck. "I'm gonna take a walk." He walks out of the house quickly.
  Stiles looks around. "Did any of you know about this?"
  Hayden sighs. "I did."
  Scott raises an eyebrow. "You did?"
  Hayden nods. "Alex told me a week ago."
  "And you didn't tell Theo?" Liam questions.
  Hayden shakes her head. "It wasn't my job to tell him, nor was it Alex's. I'm not Theo's best friend, I barely know the real him. All I really know is what he did."
  "But Alex is Theo's best friend, she should've told him," Liam argues.
  Hayden sighs. "Liam, Alex raised Devon. He's practically her son. She didn't know what to do, so she stayed out of it. She did try to get Devon to tell Theo, but he said not yet. You have to try to understand that."
  Liam's eyes soften. "Yeah, that couldn't have been easy."

  Alex knocks on Theo's door. "Theo?" She opens the door slowly to see Theo sitting on the bed with his head in his hands. She sits next to him, far enough so that she doesn't bother him.
  Theo looks up with teary eyes. "Why didn't you tell me?"
  "Because I couldn't."
  "Couldn't or wouldn't?"
  "Both."
  Theo stands up, becoming more agitated. "You lied to me! This especially isn't something you lie about!"
Alex stands as well, noticeably calmer than Theo. "I'm sorry. But, it was not my choice."
Theo scoffs. "You had a choice and you chose wrong."
"He's my brother, Theo," Alex says, becoming increasingly frustrated. "I raised him."
Theo furrows his brows. "I'm your best friend! You! The only friend I've ever had, lied to me! I don't care if he's your brother! He tortured me! Since I was eleven!"
Alex's eyes soften. "Theo-"
Theo cuts her off. "Just get out."
"What?"
Theo growls. Not a nice or playful or annoyed growl. A 'I'll rip you to pieces' growl. "Get out."
Alex steps back and nods slowly. She grabs Theo's empty glass and open the door. She pauses and turns to him. "You should get some sleep. We have that trip tomorrow." She walks into the kitchen, the pack watching her from the living room. She looks at them. "Everyone go to bed. Or go to your rooms, I don't care." The pack didn't bother arguing and walked into their respective rooms. She picks up all the glasses and cleans them, then puts them away. Once finished, she just stands there. Her thoughts are too loud. She can't focus. Can't do anything. She takes a glass and fills it to the brim with vodka. It's better to forget than deal with it all. She chugs the entire glass, feeling nothing. Until suddenly, she feels so much. Instead of filling the glass again, she just drinks from the bottle. Her body slides down the counter until she's sitting on the floor. Her eyes are teary and there's a lump in her throat. It's too much. She hears cracking. She knows frost is covering the counter.
  Hayden walks in and sees Alex on the floor, head in her arms. Frost surrounding her. "Alex?"
  Alex looks at her. "Yeah?" Hayden cringes at her voice. So soft. So broken. She sits across from Alex. "I saw this coming."
  Hayden looks at her, confused. "So why didn't you try to avoid it?"
  Alex thinks for a moment. "I didn't want to believe it would actually happen." She takes a big gulp of vodka. "I guess it's what I deserve."
  Hayden shakes her head. "You don't deserve this."
  Alex laughs bitterly. "Oh, but I do. I am violent, and bitter, and ugly inside and out," she spits. "You're falling for me." She shakes her head. "Don't." She stares at Hayden. Her eyes cold and old and wise. "This is not a love story. This will not end happily. This is a battle, and it will end just as bloody. This is a horror movie, and we will not survive until the credits." The frost crackles. "This is a tragedy, my love, and you have always played the hero. I am the villain of this story and you can't stop that. These violent delights have violent ends."
  "What is wrong with you?"
  "Everything except for the way I dress," she smirks.
  Hayden leaves the room, not knowing what else to do.
  "Theo?" Liam calls, walking into their room after taking a shower.
  "What?" Theo spits.
  Liam sighs. "Look, I know you're mad-"
  "Mad? I'm fucking furious. I just found out the guy that tortured me is my father and that my best friend kept it from me."
  Liam grabs Theo's hands. "She's your best friend. This one mistake shouldn't destroy that."
Theo jerks his hands away. "She lied to me!"
Liam exhales. "Why don't we go to bed?"
Theo scoffs. "Whatever."
They lay down, backs facing each other, not ever touching. They both stare at the wall, not able to sleep. The silence in the room deafening. Only twenty minutes pass before Liam sits up. He kisses Theo's head and leaves the room quietly.
He knocks on the door to Mason and Corey's room.
"Come in," Mason says.
He walks in with teary eyes.
Mason stands up immediately. "What's wrong?"
Liam sniffles. "Me and Theo had a fight. He won't talk to me."
Mason sighs. "Let him blow off some steam. He'll talk to you."
Corey nods. "Masons right, Liam. Talk to him tomorrow, after the trip. For tonight, sleep on the couch. I'd offer here, but there isn't enough room."
Liam nods and walks out to the living room. He notices Alex passed out in the kitchen. He sighs and carefully carries her to her room. He walks back out at falls asleep on the couch.

***
A/N— I honestly feel like this chapter sucks.
Theo finds out Devon is his father and Alex has been lying to him.
What will happen during the field trip next chapter?
I also made Flash just a dick, not a bully.