Beacon Hills 1983

Chapter 3: Control

(Teen wolf + Stranger Things)

Colour rises to my face, and my heart beats faster. I close my eyes and take deep breaths, balling my hands into fists, picturing the Triskelion in my mind.
It's swirls give me a strange sort of comfort and my body relaxes, I exhale and walk fastly to my seat, keeping my head down so I don't have to look at anyone. Especially Billy.

Before I know it, it's lunch time.
Lucy and I find a spot, at the tables outside, as far away from Billy's gang as possible. But they still make sure to talk loud enough for us to hear.
"I guess that poor girl won't be coming to Riverdale Billy." I see one of them nod in my direction. The group snickers.
I look away, but my heart is pounding.
"Yeah well, it's not like she's allowed to go anywhere other than school." I hear another say.
Billy just smiles and stares at me, with a nearly-finished cigarette between his lips.
"Her family's probably embarrassed. I mean, she doesn't look like the rest of them." One of the voices say, causing a stir of laughter to travel around the table.

"Don't listen to them. They're talking crap." Lucy tries to distract me.
But I growl and she looks at me with big eyes.
I feel the sharp growth of my claws, and I dig into the underneath of the table.
"Woah, Nes..." She says slowly, hearing my breathing get heavy.
I quickly look down, so that my hair covers my face- and feel the golden warmth wash over my eyes as they now glow bright yellow.

"Shit." I say under my breath.
I get up and run, with my heightened strength and speed to the girl's changing room inside, balling my hands into tight fists, and covering my glowing eyes by burying my head into the inside of my elbow.
I shut the door, turn on the shower, rip my clothes off, then get under the sprinkling water.

I place my palms on the tiled wall in front of me, and try to take deep breaths, and calm myself down.
But it doesn't work, and I feel the stinging pain in my gums, indicating the instant growth of my wolf canines.
The hot water beats down on my back like water bullets. Blood drips from my palms on the wall- my claws dug into them when I balled my fists. They're not healing.
I imagine the Triskelion in my head but it's too blurry, I can't feel the connection between the swirls. I don't feel relaxed at all.

"Nes!" I hear Lucy call.
I can't let her see me like this!
My heart beats faster, I growl again- louder than I meant to- leading her closer to me.
I pant and I panick.
Then suddenly, a picture- or memory- comes to my mind.
A man who's smile looked like it made flowers grow, his laughter, soft and graceful like a harp, his eyes shone like crystals.
My father.

My breathing slows down, the golden warmth leaves my eyes.
"Nes are you in here?" Lucy calls again.
I remember the way he'd lift me up and tickle me, and how his warm hugs felt like the safest place on earth.
My claws retract, and so do my fangs.
Lucy finds me weeping in the shower, wearing nothing but my underwear.
My hands have healed, and the blood has washed away.

She rushes to me, and turns the shower off.
I slide down, and sit with my back against the tiled wall- sobbing.
Lucy grabs a towel from the shelf and wraps it around me. I lean into her and she holds me tightly as I cry into her shoulder.
Although she may think I feel this way because of Billy Hargrove and his friends, I'm actually crying because of my father- whom I know I will never see again.

"It's okay Nes. I'm here for you."
I nod into her shoulder.

▪   ▪   ▪

By the end of the day I'm exhausted, and the bus ride couldn't be longer and more boring.
I jump off at the bus stop infront of Lucy's house and wave to her as I start towards the Beacon Hills Preserve.
I look down as I walk, and think about what happened in the shower at school.
Why did I think of Dad? And how did it make me control the shift?
I'll ask Talia when I get home.

I sigh when I see my house a few feet away. I can hear my mom and sister's voices rising at each other.
Benefits of super hearing. Love it.

I see my oldest cousin, Talia, carrying her little baby in her arms.
"Nes! You're back."
Her smile fades when she sees my dull expression.
Talia gently strokes my arm and says, "Do you want to talk about something?"
I look up at her and nod.
"C'mon." She walks towards my room upstairs, and I follow.

We walk past my sister's room, and hear a bit of the argument between her and my mom.
"You can't keep leaving whenever you feel like!" My mom screams.
"I'm not a kid anymore mom!"
Talia shakes her head.

We come to my room. Talia closes the door.
"I nearly shifted at school." I sit on the bed.
"Did you use the Triskelion?"
"In my mind, yes. But it didn't help."
She places the baby, Laura, on the bed, and sits beside me.
She takes my hand in hers, and looks at me in the eyes.
"Nes. There are other ways to control the shift. The Triskelion is just one of them. It works for me, but that doesn't necessarily mean it works for you." She gives me a warm smile.

"I figured that out today."
"Really?" She raises her eyebrows in suprise.
"Yeah...I can't explain it...and I don't really know how it happened but..."
"But...?" She waits.
"I saw my dad."
Puddles are filling up in my eyes.

"It is possible to control the shift with emotions."
A tear rolls down my cheek.
"Most werewolves control it with anger..."
Talia wipes my tear, "For you it might be grief."
"He's not dead." I say with a lump in my throat.
"But you did lose him."

Laura climbs onto my lap, and starts tugging at my shirt, as if asking me to carry her.
I smile, and think of my father, as I lift her up and tickle her, just the way he would.