Monstrous ➙ Theo Raeken

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Clarissa wished that she could have stayed home from school that day.

It had been a supernatural free weekend after she and Theo had fought and while things were still slightly tense with the couple, she knew that she would rather be at home with him than Beacon Hills High School.

"Nice jersey." A small voice commented from next to where she was leaning on the lockers and she looked down at her outfit. She was wearing her brother's extra lacrosse jersey in support of the team playing the charity match that night but she couldn't help but feel unenthused when she knew that there was a killer beast on the loose in her town. "Are you coming to the game?"

"More than likely." Clarissa declared smoothly, turning her eyes to glance at Nolan's shy smile before looking down the hallway for her brothers once again. "How have you been, Nolan?"

"I should be more focused on getting a girlfriend than the boy in my geometry class, but all things considered, I could be worse." Nolan surprised Clarissa with his witty comment and it brought a half amused smile to her face as she looked at him again.

"I hope that boy isn't my brother or Corey." Clarissa chuckled softly, tapping her fingertips against her thigh as she raised an eyebrow towards the younger boy. "You're too good for them and besides Delcan doesn't need the ego boost."

"No offense but your brother is definitely not my type." Nolan laughed loudly as he leaned back against the same row of lockers she had been waiting on for fifteen minutes. "Besides I've seen his boyfriend and I don't want to have a black eye after we play against his lacrosse team tonight."

"Brett is an idiot but he's family." Clarissa declared fondly, knowing that the teenage boy would be arriving to give a statement to the news within the hour. "So, who is the mystery man that's captured your heart?"

"I don't know if it's just me looking at how attractive he is or if it's an actual crush." Nolan avoided her question and glanced down the hallway as he stuttered. "I've never kissed anyone so who's to say if I like boys or girls."

"It's okay to like both." Clarissa encouraged softly, eyeing the teenage boy that had come out of one of the classrooms and effectively captured the attention of the sophomore that was standing next to her. "Trust me. I've questioned myself multiple times, especially with friends that look like Lydia and Allison."

Clarissa turned her eyes down the hallway once more and sighed in relief as she noticed her younger brother coming towards her but it died immediately when she noticed his frantic eyes.

"Good luck tonight." Clarissa turned towards Nolan suddenly, attempting to be nice to the younger boy before escaping to make sure that her brother was alright. She squeezed his shoulder and lightly pressed her lips to his cheek in a friendly gesture before leaning towards his ear. "He's cute so I definitely approve. He's also staring over here so go talk to him."

Clarissa winked towards the tall brunette boy that was staring at her and Nolan, gesturing towards Nolan with a subtle nod before she pushed herself to move towards her brother. She couldn't see Corey trailing behind him like he normally was and she couldn't sense his heartbeat in the immediate area.

"Where's our wayward brother?" Clarissa questioned as her brother stopped in front of her, her hands on his shoulders to keep from crashing into her. "What happened this time?"

"I need you to talk him out of doing something stupid." Delcan spoke frantically and Clarissa could tell that whatever had happened scared her brother more than he was willing to admit. "He's talking about leaving town."

"Where is he?" Clarissa groaned in frustration, knowing that if she didn't have a chat with her younger brother, she would have to drag Evie away from her conference call to New Orleans. She didn't want to be the one to pull her away from that phone call.