Eternal Flame

~3~

TWO DAYS AGO

Trevor hadn't slept a wink that night. He groaned as his alarm clock blared from his phone, telling him it was yet another day of hell--in other words, school. And it was a Monday at that. Yay.

He groaned again as he rolled out of the guest bed and walked into his bedroom, where he grabbed a clean pair of jeans and a black t-shirt. He ran his brush through his long black hair that swept over his left eye. Everyone kept asking whether he would ever get a haircut or if he could see. First, unless everyone would like to see his abnormally large forehead, scissors would have to stay away, though it was getting pretty long, and he'd have to get it trimmed. Second, he could see just fine. If he couldn't, he wouldn't have his hair like this.

He grabbed his backpack off the floor and walked into the hallway and nearly tripped over a large tabby cat.

The cat squalled up at him, folding his ears against his head.

Trevor shook his head and asked, "If you don't want me stepping on you, why do you sleep in the middle of the floor?"

The cat stood up and stretched. "Well it's my house," his father's voice came from the cat. "I can sleep wherever I want. And you should watch where you're walking. You interrupted my nap."

Trevor rolled his eyes and watched as his father shifted back into his human form. "Why do you always transform into that cat?"

Once Dad was in his human form, he replied, "'Cause I can."

Trevor dipped his head in acknowledgement. "Fair enough."

Dad's smile slipped from his face as he grew serious. "I checked the yard while you were still asleep. No one was there, but I'll keep an eye out in case whoever that was comes back."

"Whoever that was had better stay the hell away."

"Language, son." Dad checked his watch. "Get on to school before you're late. Mom will be back by the time you get home and we'll go over some of our lessons."

Trevor's heart started to beat with excitement at that last part. His parents were always teaching him on honing his shapeshifting abilities, to learn how to shift like another person, to manipulate his internal organs if he were to go up in the sky or into the water. He wanted to learn all he could to become a powerful shifter. Hell, the most powerful shapeshifter.

"K'. See you later."

"Bye, son."

It was only a five minute walk to his school, Eastern Valley High, and he took the time to reflect on what happened last night. Something deep in his gut told him it wasn't just some guy trying to pull a sick prank; there was something more, he just couldn't put his finger on it, or his tired mind was reading too much into it and unless it happened again, he had to let it go.

All too soon he was approaching the school where other students were piling in, shoving one another, laughing, screaming, eyes glued to their phones, arguing. Just like a typical high school, only five shapeshifters went here, though of course no one else knew that. Trevor shuddered at the chaos that would ensue if someone here found out.

A tired sigh escaped Trevor's lips as he watched his fellow classmates walk inside. He was so not in the mood to deal with idiots today and debated skipping, but he knew his parents would have his ass in a sling, and he'd take being around a bunch of idiots for seven hours than his parents' wrath any day of the week.