“So, I notice that you’re not wearing your eyepatch. Is your eye all better now?”

Roxy smiled awkwardly and rubbed her wrists, her new glasses falling down the bridge of her nose as she looked towards her lap. “Well, not all better, but… as good as it’s gonna get, I guess.” She took the glasses off and looked back up at her therapist. “It’s, um… it’s still blurry, which is what the glasses are for. Prescription in the left lens, non-prescription in the right. I can’t open it all the way, either. Nerve damage in my eyelid, apparently. Also, if I do this…” She closed her right eye and stuck her hand out at a certain angle. “I can’t see my hand. There’s a, uh… a blind spot or something. Just nothing there. It’s not really an issue with both eyes open, but without the glasses, the blurriness can make things really disorientating. Having depth perception again is nice, though. You don’t really think about it till you don’t have it anymore and keep knocking over cups.” She laughed awkwardly and put her glasses back on.

Diana smiled back at her and wrote something down on her notepad. “I’m sure. I can’t even imagine how clumsy I’d be if I couldn’t gauge distance. Those glasses look good on you, by the way.”

Roxy grinned and tried to hide her blush. “Th-thank you.”

“Now, in our last session you mentioned being unable to decide whether or not you wanted to start school straight away or wait until you felt a little more ready. What did you end up going with?”

“I, uh… I ended up just sucking it up and going. I felt that I needed to just get used to being around lots of people again.”

“And how has it been?”

Roxy hesitated for a second. “Stressful, though that’s not surprising. It’s a lot. Teenagers are loud, and a lot of them lack spatial awareness. I haven’t been knocked over yet, but I’ve had a few close calls, and it’s always pretty scary. The teachers and staff are aware of all the do’s and don’ts, so I haven’t had any trouble there. I can leave class whenever I need to go calm down, and they’re all calling me Roxy instead of Roxanne. No one’s asked any super intrusive questions yet, but I know people are still theorising about it. I’ve… I’ve been wearing a long sleeved shirt underneath my uniform to cover the scars on my arms, as well as the school pants instead of the skirt for the same reason. I know people already know I was… I-I was hurt, I just don’t want to give them any more to talk about. They don’t know the extent of it.” She paused and chuckled as a memory surfaced. “Someone did ask me if I was transitioning at one point, ‘cuz of the hair and the pants. That made me laugh a bit. No one’s given me any trouble yet, aside from one dumb freshman who was trying to impress his new friends.”

“Do you want to share about that?”

Roxy waved a hand. “Oh, it was nothing. Just some new kid that I’d never even seen before. He called me ‘scarface’ and turned around to see if his friends were laughing along. Kinda backfired, though. Sam just walked up to him and asked, ‘Do you wanna repeat that?’ He practically pissed himself.” She laughed a little at the memory.

Diana frowned. “How did that name make you feel?”

Roxy shrugged. “Eh. He was just a dumb kid, there was nothing behind it. It was hardly creative, either. Besides, there’s nothing anyone can say about my appearance that I haven’t already thought to myself, anyway.”

Diana hummed sadly and made a note. “Do you think your scars are ugly?”

“Well, they aren’t exactly pretty.” She sighed. “It’s not that I think they make me look one way or the other, it’s that they differentiate me more from everyone else. Not only are they a constant reminder to me of what happened, they’re a reminder to everyone else, as well. No one looks at me and just thinks ‘Roxy’ anymore. They think ‘that girl who was kidnapped,’ or ‘the one from the news.’ Well, everyone except for my friends.”

“How do you know they think about you like that? Have you spent any time talking to anyone aside from your friends?”

Roxy faltered. “W-well, not really, but… B-but it’s just exhausting even being around them! I can always see it on their faces. All they see me as is a victim and I hate it. I-I’ve tried talking to a couple people in class, but it’s just awkward, because they don’t know how to treat me, and I can tell they’re always holding back questions. I just wanna be treated normally! At least with my friends, they all already know everything about what happened. They don’t need to ask me any stupid questions, and they treat me like an actual person, not like some fragile thing that’s gonna break down at the slightest breeze. Honestly, sometimes I wish they would all just ask their questions and get it over with so they can give me that pitying look they all have and leave me alone.”

Diana frowned. “Now, obviously I don’t know the finer details of your relationships with your classmates, but maybe the reason they can only see you as ‘Roxy, the victim’ is because you’ve never given them the chance to see you as anything else? It sounds like you’ve been pushing them away before they can learn about who you really are. I know that you’re far more than just a victim, Roxy, but that’s because I’ve had the chance to really speak with you and learn about you. It’s the same with your friends. But the classmates who only know about you from what they’ve heard on the news or seen in class? They aren’t going to treat you like ‘Roxy, the girl who likes hiking through the woods and working out, the girl who saves animals from traps and loves her friends more than anything else.’ They don’t know that girl, because you haven’t given them the chance to know her. I think you should try giving people a chance to know you. Your friends all sound wonderful, but getting to know new people and getting used to talking to them could be very beneficial to your emotional recovery. Going to school was already a very big step for that, and I’m proud.”

Roxy remained silent for a minute as she considered her therapist’s words. “As usual, you’re probably right. It’s just… difficult.”

“I know it’s hard, but you don’t have to do it all in one go. Baby steps, Roxy.” She checked her watch. “Now, I think that’s all we have time for. Your homework for this session is to try and talk to someone outside of your friend group. It doesn’t have to be much, just a little conversation.”

Roxy grabbed her crutches and lifted herself to her feet. “Alright, I’ll give it a shot.”

“That’s all I ask. I’ll see you next time, okay?” She walked over to the door and held it open. Roxy thanked her as she passed and made her way out of the office and into the carpark, sending Sam a message to let her know she was finished with the session. It took a few minutes, but eventually her shitty rustbucket of a car tore into the lot with an irresponsibly fast turn. The rear window rolled down and Leif stuck her head out, still wearing her KFC uniform.

“Get in, nerd! We have fried chicken!”

Roxy grinned and made her way around to the passenger-side door, slipping into the seat. She leaned over and gave Sam a quick kiss before turning around to look at Leif. All of the hair on the left side of her head had been shaved off into an undercut. "Nice haircut, dude," Roxy said.

Leif smiled as Sam pulled out onto the road. "Thanks. You inspired me, and I’ve sorta always wanted to do something like this. Plus, it draws attention away from my fucked up ear.” She pulled back the hair covering her right ear and showed it off. Roxy had seen it before, but it still made her wince. The entire top half of it was just gone. Guilt swarmed around in her belly.

“Sorry.”

Leif gave her a funny look. “Why? You didn’t shoot me.”

“Y-yeah, but… still, it wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t need to come save me.”

“Doesn’t make it any more your fault. If it did, it would mean that it’s also your fault that you got shot as well, which it isn’t. Hell, if we wanna throw the blame around, it was technically my fault. No, what happened isn’t anyone’s fault except for the people who pulled the triggers. Even if I knew it was gonna happen, I still would’ve gone. I know you would’ve done the same if it was me stuck down there.”

Roxy turned back around and touched the necklace around her neck - the one she’d made out of the deformed bullet Pedro gave her. She survived. The people who hurt her didn’t. “Yeah, I would’ve.”

“How was your session, babe?” Sam asked, clearly eager to change the subject, if the emotions flowing through Roxy’s mark were anything to go by.

“It was fine. We talked about school and stuff. She thinks the glasses look good on me.”

Sam grinned. “Your glasses look adorable on you.”

Roxy made a noise of disapproval as she tried to hide the blush on her cheeks and the tiny smile on her lips. Leif chimed in from the back seat in a clear attempt to stop being the third wheel. “You look like a nerd.”

Roxy turned back towards Leif. “When we get home, Sam and I are gonna play fetch, and you’re gonna be the ball, okay?”

Leif just smirked back. “Jeez, Rox, if you wanted me to participate in your kinky petplay, all you had to do was ask.”

Completely unable to respond to that retort, Roxy just turned back around and pulled the flannel that she’d requisitioned from Sam tighter around herself. She’d been wearing it practically non-stop whenever she wasn’t at school. Sam wasn’t getting it back.

“Are we actually gonna play fetch?” Sam asked, glancing over at Roxy hopefully.

Roxy snorted and shook her head in disbelief. She was literally dating a dog. “Sure, why not.”

Sam pumped her fist and whooped. “Yes!”

They eventually arrived at Roxy’s place and made their way inside. Leif set down the take-away bags on the kitchen table and Roxy found her dad in the living room. “Hey dad, we brought some KFC if you want an- woah, what’s wrong?”

He startled a little and wiped the tears from his eyes, pulling out the remote and pausing whatever was on the TV. “O-oh! Sorry, hun, you startled me. Uh, nothing, I was just watching some old videos of you and got a little emotional, that’s all.”

Roxy turned towards the TV and saw a frozen image of herself, surely no older than two or three, sitting on the kitchen floor of their old house in Seattle. She’d seen this particular one probably over a dozen times by now. It was one of her dad’s favourites.

“Oh my god!” Sam remarked as she and Leif entered the room. She looked back and forth between Roxy and the TV, a smile bigger than anything Roxy’d seen in months adorning her face. “Is that you?! You were so cuuuuuute!”

“Ah, the old ‘Kitchen Bug.’ A classic,” Leif said.

Her dad grinned and unpaused the video. Roxy’s chubby two year old self was staring at something just out of frame.

“What’cha doin’, Roro?” her dad asked from behind the camera.

Roxy pointed a finger at the thing she’d been staring at, looking up at the camera with a blank stare. “Bug.”

The camera panned down slightly, and sure enough, there was a beetle on the floor, slowly crawling towards Roxy. She reached down and picked it up with clumsy fingers. “Oh, be careful, Roxy!” her dad said.

Roxy held the captured beetle up towards the camera as it crawled around her palm. “Bug!” she eloquently stated, a triumphant smile on her face.

Back in the present, Sam was just about having a meltdown. She gripped Roxy’s arm tightly. “Roxy, that is the single cutest thing I have ever seen in my entire life! You were so adorable! Can I call you Roro too?!”

Roxy sighed and accepted her fate. There was no way Sam was ever letting this go. “Fine. But not in public!”

Sam leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. “Thanks, Roro!” She threw herself onto the couch and settled in next to her dad, eyes fixed on the screen and a huge smile on her face.

Leif put a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll just bring the food in here.”

Roxy could only sigh again as Sam squeed at a video of her baby self with chocolate all over her face. She was going to regret this, wasn’t she?

—

“Hurry up, Drew! You’re late!”

Drew sighed and buttoned his shirt up a little faster. “I know!” he called back to his mom. It was his first day at a new school, so of course he’d ended up sleeping in for thirty minutes. Wouldn’t be the first time, to be fair. He glanced at the emblem inlaid into the breast pocket of his shirt. ‘St Matthew’s High School.’ He’d never been to a private school before, let alone a catholic one. The fees were relatively cheap, though, and it was the best rated one in this tiny shithole of a town, so his parents forked over the extra cash to make it happen. They figured that he needed some ‘extra guidance’ or whatever. As if that would even make a difference in his last year at school.

Once he was finally dressed, he grabbed his bag and made his way out of the house, saying goodbye to his mom as he went. On the walk, he kept his eyes peeled and his ears open. He’d done a little bit of research on this town before they moved here. It had a pretty low crime rate, but the few crimes that had been committed were big. The Dewsbury Forest Killings in 2007, the Shepperton Street Murders a couple of months ago, and most recently, the kidnapping and apparent torture of a teenage girl, for reasons no one knew yet. At first glance, Dewsbury seemed like a quaint little town where nothing ever happened, but Drew got the feeling that there was something deeper going on, just under the surface. He was going to find out what.

See, Drew wasn’t a normal teenager. He’d always known he was different. His biological parents left him on a doorstep when he was just a few months old, and he bounced around the system for a few years before being adopted by the people he currently called mom and dad. If whatever he had was genetic, he’d never know. He’d never know if he had his mom’s dark eyes or his dad’s curly brown hair. And he was okay with that. Because they left him with a gift, and a mission to use it for good.

He’d always been stronger than everyone else. He could always hear better, smell better, see better. When he was seven he discovered that he could transform into a wolf, experience the freedom of wind in his fur as he rushed through wilderness. There was a lot of that back home in Georgia. He would always see things on TV, stories about heroes using their gifts to help people. He realised that he should be doing that, too. After all, ‘with great power, comes great responsibility.’ That one line had gotten him expelled from so many schools, inspired him to throw himself into so many fights for the sake of someone else. They moved around a lot because of that, as well as his dad’s job. And now they were here, starting again in a tiny pacific northwest town. Okay, it wasn’t that small, but Drew was used to living in cities. It was definitely an adjustment.

He arrived at the school and made his way across the courtyard, walking up the stairs and into the building. Just as he’d expected, the halls were practically devoid of students, with only a few latecomers like himself still lingering around. That kinda sucked. While he’d been given a schedule with all of his classes, he didn’t actually know where any of them were, and he’d been hoping to ask someone before they started. He sighed. Nothing he could do at this point except walk around until he saw a door with the right sign.

As he made his way through the hallways, he spotted something that gave him pause. There was a student on crutches searching through a locker, seeming like they were having a bit of trouble. Something twinged in his gut. While he needed to get to class, leaving without at least trying to give them a hand struck him the wrong way. His mind made up, he approached the person. He couldn’t tell if they were a boy or a girl yet, as the locker door was blocking his sight of their face. They were wearing the school pants, same as he was, but their frame was quite small, so it could really go either way.

He walked up and leaned against the locker next to them. "Hey there, do you-"

The person yelped and flinched backwards, slamming the locker door shut and cutting him off. From the cadence of her cry and the face that he now had full view of, he could tell that the person was a girl. Her short, mostly black hair was a mess of bedhead and her vaguely familiar tan face was marred by two long intersecting scars, both clearly pretty new. She was wearing glasses, and there was a streak of white hair in her fringe. The short-lived fear in her heavily-bagged eyes and in her scent was quickly replaced by anger. This was someone who had been through shit.

Speaking of her scent, there was something odd about it. While hers was clear and distinct, it was intermingled with a hint of someone else's. It wasn't uncommon for him to be able to tell when two people had been in contact based on their scents, but with this girl it was different. Usually, the other person's scent would be pretty evenly distributed across the original person's body. Instead, this person's scent was coming from a very specific spot, somewhere around the girl’s neck. It was almost like they'd choked her or something. He made a mental note to find out who the scent belonged to. There might already be someone for him to teach a lesson to here.

"What the fuck! Don't sneak up on me like that!"

Drew threw his hands up in mock surrender. "Sorry, sorry! My bad. I didn't mean to startle you, I was just wondering if you needed a hand there."

She bristled and threw her locker back open. “I’m fine.” After a moment, she glanced back at him, a hint of suspicion on her face. “Who even are you? I haven’t seen you around before.”

He stuck his hand out for her to shake. “I’m Drew. Today’s my first day.”

She flinched at the movement of his hand and a small part of him wilted. Who the heck hurt this girl? At first it seemed like she wasn’t going to take it, but something shifted behind her eyes and she shook his hand. Her grip was firm and her gaze was hard. “Roxy.”

“Roxy,” he repeated, getting used to the name. He was always terrible at remembering them. Still, there was something familiar about it, especially when combined with her face. He frowned. This was really bugging him. “Have we met before? I feel like I know you from somewhere.”

She sighed, deep and world-weary, as she transferred some books from her locker to a bag on the ground. “Probably the news.”

He waited for her to elaborate, but she never did, so he just shrugged and moved on. He would figure it out eventually, and she clearly wasn’t eager to share. He was about to try and ask her about where classes were when a tall blonde came bounding down the hallway towards them. “Roro!”

Roxy’s face was a conflicted mess of happiness and embarrassment as she turned around towards the newcomer. “I told you not to call me that in public!”

“Sorry!” the blonde replied without a hint of remorse, pulling the shorter girl into a tight hug. When she next spoke, it was in a whisper intended only for Roxy’s ears. Drew felt bad for eavesdropping, but he couldn’t really help it. From this distance, he could see that she had scars on her face as well. Interesting. “I thought you weren’t coming today?”

“I wasn’t going to, but then I realised that if I stay home I would just have to sit and stew in my feelings. At least here I’m distracted. And I get to see you,” she added with a slight smile.

The blonde frowned. “You’re not hurting anywhere?”

Roxy let out an exasperated huff. “Sam, I fell out of bed, not down the stairs. You’ve seen me take much worse and walk it off.”

Sam grinned and backed off. “Okay, okay, I’ll stop mothering.”

Drew realised that Sam’s scent was the same one he could smell on Roxy’s neck. That confused him. He’d half expected that scent to belong to some sort of abuser or something, given its location and Roxy’s general jumpiness, but clearly these two were very close friends. Oddly enough, Roxy’s scent was also present on Sam’s neck, in much the same way. He doubted these two spent their free time strangling each other, so there must be some other explanation.

“What are you even doing here? Aren’t you supposed to be in class?” Roxy asked.

Sam grinned lopsidedly. “I forgot some stuff in my locker and saw you from down the hall.”

Roxy snorted and playfully punched the taller girl’s arm. “You goof.”

Sam finally looked up at him, casually draping an arm across Roxy’s shoulders. “Who’re you?” she asked bluntly, though with no hint of distrust.

Drew stuck out his hand again. “I’m Drew. It’s my first day here.”

Sam made no move to shake it, though more because she just didn’t seem to notice it than any intended slight. “Woah, cool accent. Where are you from?”

“Georgia.”

“The state or the country?”

“Obviously the state, Sam. His accent is southern, not European,” Roxy butt in.

Drew frowned. “Georgia’s a country?”

Roxy’s face broke into an amused smirk, and a small burst of pride flowed through him at being the one to cause it, as unintentional as it was. Making friends at a new school was always a struggle, but it seemed like he was making good headway here. “Man, you’d get along with Leif.”

Drew didn't have the slightest clue what that meant, but he didn't get the chance to ask, as the blonde suddenly startled. “Oh shit, I gotta get back to class! Bye, Rox!” Sam leaned down and kissed her on the head with an exaggerated ‘mwah!’ noise before zooming off down the hall. The action made Drew grin. Those two were really good friends, huh?

Roxy turned back to him once Sam was gone, closing her locker and hoisting the bag of books over her shoulder. “Is there something else you need, or are you just gonna keep standing there?”

Drew paused for a second and realised that he was indeed just standing there like an idiot. He pulled out his schedule. “Oh! I, uh… I have no idea where my classes are, do you think you could give me some directions?”

Roxy sighed and beckoned him over, taking a look at the paper. “I’ll just take you there, our classes are in the same direction. Try to keep up, I can hobble pretty fast.”

Drew couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or not, but easily kept pace with her regardless as they made their way down the halls. He desperately wanted to ask what happened to her, but he held his tongue. Something like that wouldn’t be appropriate at all, considering they’d just met. Whatever it was must’ve been pretty traumatic, though. Her face looked like someone had gone at it with a knife, and he could tell from her body language that she was still wary of him, like she was anticipating an attack or something. His gut twisted as he noticed she was also missing a finger on her left hand. It unsettled him. Her injuries were too exact, too… calculated. They didn’t come from some accident, they had to have been made intentionally.

…Oh!

“Oh shit, you’re the girl who was kidnapped!” he exclaimed, shocked that it took him so long to put it together.

The glare Roxy shot him could have melted glaciers with its intensity. For a second he was scared that she was going to blow up at him, but her look of fury quickly deflated into one of sadness, so deep that he couldn’t see the bottom. “Please don’t call me that. I… I’m just Roxy.”

Drew internally slapped himself for being such an idiot, and made a note to do it for real once he had some privacy, because god, what a stupid thing to do. Just when he thought he was doing well. “Aw shit, I-I’m real sorry, that was a dumb thing to say.”

She sighed resignedly, which only made him feel worse. “It’s fine, I guess. I can’t really blame you. People are reminded every time they see my face, so it’s not like I can really do much about it. They’ll get used to it eventually.”

The rest of the walk was made in silence as Drew stewed over his guilty feelings. He wanted to make it up to her, but at the same time, it felt like doing that would just bring more attention to the issue, which seemed like the opposite of what he wanted to do. They arrived before he was able to make up his mind. “Here’s your class,” Roxy said flatly, limping away without another word.

Drew sighed, burying his feelings about the matter. While he’d fucked up his first impressions with her, he was sure he’d get another chance. He steeled himself and opened the door to the classroom.

“Excuse me! We’re in the middle of class!” The teacher exclaimed as he entered.

He faltered. “Uh, sorry. I-it’s my first day. I got a little lost.”

The teacher paused and checked over the registry. “Oh, you must be Drew, then?”

“That’s me, yeah.”

The woman sighed and gestured vaguely towards the rest of the class. “Find a seat and try to catch up.”

He did as he was told and picked the first empty desk that caught his eye, next to a girl with an undercut who was blankly staring out the window. He sat down and tried to introduce himself. “Hey, I’m Drew.”

She turned around and smiled, shaking his offered hand. “Leif.”

“Leif? Interesting name,” he replied. She must’ve been the one that Roxy was talking about earlier. He noticed that Sam’s scent was also present on her, though much less intensely than it had been on Roxy. Here, it was more like a general aura than a sharp point. There was still something odd about it, though. It almost seemed like Sam’s scent was a part of Leif’s, not just left over from some physical contact. Come to think of it, it had been the same with Roxy. He just didn’t notice at the time on account of the fact that it seemed to be coming from just the one spot. Weird.

“Yeah, I know it’s not exactly common, but I like it.” She laughed nervously.

“Naw, it’s cool. I like it too. It’s like, exotic or whatever.”

She smiled bashfully and brushed her hair behind her ear, though it wasn’t super effective, on account of the fact that the top half of her ear appeared to be missing. The injury didn’t look too old, maybe a month at the most. Drew frowned. It might have been a coincidence, but Leif was now the third person connected to Sam’s scent that had some sort of injury. Sam and Roxy both had scars on their faces, and Leif was missing part of her ear. He didn’t really know what to make of it, but it was interesting regardless, especially when he considered the weirdness surrounding their scents. He knew that Roxy’s were obviously from her kidnapping, but nothing about the other two. He decided to risk asking about it, despite what had just happened with Roxy in the hallway.

“Hey, I know this is probably, like, not the sort of thing you ask when you’ve just met someone, but I was wondering, if you’re down to share, what happened to your ear?”

Leif winced. “Uh, would you believe that it was a piercing gone wrong?” her eyes shifted away from him nervously.

Drew raised an eyebrow. “Not when you say it like that.” He smiled in what he hoped was a comforting way. “Hey, it’s cool, you don’t have to tell me.”

“It’s probably for the best. If I told you the truth, you’d just have a million more questions.”

He chuckled. “I don’t know, I’ve seen some pretty unbelievable stuff. Try me.”

She smiled at him mischievously, shaking her head. “A girl’s gotta have her secrets. But who knows, maybe if you stick around long enough you’ll find out. And you can tell me all about this ‘unbelievable stuff’ you’ve apparently seen. We can compare.” Her smile turned genuine and the sight of it made his stomach flip a little. She had a nice smile. He wanted to see more of it.

He grinned back. After his blunder with Roxy in the hallway, it felt really good to actually succeed in making his first friend here, instead of immediately screwing it up. “Sounds good to me.”

“I’m sorry, did you join my class just to cause a disruption?” The teacher called out in a snide tone.

His head whipped back around to the front of the room, where the teacher - who’s name he was still entirely unaware of - was glaring at him. “Uh, n-no, sorry ma’am.”

“Just pay attention, please.”

Drew just put his head down as the heat rose in his cheeks at getting called out. He glanced to his left to find Leif smirking at him. “Great first impression,” she mouthed. He sighed, dropping his head against the desk. This year was off to a great start.

—

Sam sat at a bench in the cafeteria, eating her lunch with one hand while holding Roxy’s with the other, gently squeezing it and stroking it with her thumb every now and then to help her through the tiny bursts of anxiety she was getting in the crowded room. Leif was going off on another tangent about something, but Sam wasn’t really listening. She was instead tuned in on a conversation that was happening a few benches away, between Lukas, that new guy Drew, and some other guy named Simon. They were talking about Roxy, and while that was inevitable, things being what they were, she didn’t like the direction the conversation was going in. Lukas was fine, Drew seemed to just be curious, but Simon was starting to mouth off in a way that was starting to rub Sam the wrong way.

“I dunno, man! She’s just… kinda scary, I guess,” Simon said.

“Yeah, I’m just not seein’ it,” Drew replied. “What could be scary about her? She’s like, barely even 5’5” and can’t even walk. You afraid she’s gonna trip you with her crutches or somethin’?”

"She's actually really nice once you get to know her," Lukas said.

"Why's she always glaring at people, then? She always looks at me like she wants to kill me!" Simon complained.

"I seriously doubt she's glaring at you, dude, not unless you gave her a reason to. It’s probably just her damaged eyelid not opening all the way. Besides, if anyone has an excuse to be a little closed-off, it’s her,” Lukas replied.

"Again, what are you so afraid of? From everything I’ve heard and seen, she seems nice enough, and even if she somehow got mad enough to attack you, what would she even be able to do? She’s tiny,” Drew said.

Simon faltered. “S-sure, she’s kinda short, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t capable of some wild shit. I mean, she literally broke Kim’s arm in a fight over the summer. She does MMA or some shit.”

Drew looked a little taken-aback at that. Lukas shook his head. “Yeah, she did do that, but only after Kimberly bullied her and her friends for literally the whole of highschool. Those two have had beef for years, and even then, Roxy only broke her arm after she tried to pull a knife during the fight. She isn’t gonna come after you for looking at her the wrong way.”

“Sure, but that was before some psycho fucked up her face and held her in a basement for a week and a half. Who knows what that could’ve done to her mental state?”

Lukas sighed. “Have you even talked to her? She’s not like that. If anything she’s even more timid than before.”

“I have,” Drew replied. “Hell, I even fucked up and said some stupid shit that pissed her off. All she did was glare at me for a couple seconds and ask me not to say it again. I seriously think you’re freaking out over nothing. She just seems like a normal girl who’s been through some bad shit. Is it just ‘cuz you find her face scary with the scars? Be honest.” He smirked mockingly.

“N-no, it’s not that!” Simon looked around to see if anyone was listening, his eyes completely passing over Sam, before leaning in and whispering conspiratorially. “Fine, you wanna know the real reason? I’ll tell you. But you gotta promise not to tell anyone. I’m serious. My dad could get fired.”

Drew and Lukas shared a curious-yet-disbelieving look before playing along and leaning in. “Alright, hit me. What has you so scared of her?”

Simon sighed. “Not ‘so scared,’ just… freaked out. Anyway, listen to this. My dad is a cop, yeah? He was with the raid team that went in to arrest everyone in that place after Roxy escaped. Now, when my dad and his guys went in, they found this dead guy with his head absolutely destroyed, like, splattered all over the place. The murder weapon was this big metal cross, the type that they hang on walls and shit. They ID’d the guy as ‘Frank Emmerich,’ and according to Roxy’s statement, he was the one who did all of the, uh… the bad stuff to her. Now, guess who’s fingerprints they found all over the cross? Yep, hers. She killed that guy. Literally bashed his brains out. And you’re wondering why she freaks me out? We’re literally going to school with a murderer.”

Sam quickly excused herself from the table, shooting up and crossing the room in three long strides. She slammed her hands down on the boys’ table, startling all but Drew, who saw her coming. She leaned in close to Simon, staring daggers into him and barely suppressing the growl that wanted to rumble from her throat. “Stop talking about it like you know what happened. You have no idea how much she’s been struggling, and the last thing she needs are assholes like you spreading made-up rumours about her experience. You think she’s scary? If I find out you keep pulling shit like this I swear to Christ I will break you in half.”

She watched his face cycle through about fifty different emotions before inadvisably settling on defensiveness. “What the hell do you know about it? What, just because you’re her girlfriend, you think you have all of the facts? My dad was literally there, bitch.”

Sam faltered at the sheer audacity on display. He had no idea. His dad had no idea. He didn’t have to run through the halls of that place, desperately searching and hoping he wouldn’t be too late. He didn’t find the love of his life hiding in a cupboard, crying and shivering, her face almost unrecognisable from how bloodied and bruised it was. He didn’t have to carry her up five flights of stairs as she bled and silently screamed from having her femur smashed by a bullet. He knew nothing.

She wanted to knock his teeth out, and probably would have if it wasn’t for the warm hand that suddenly appeared on her bicep along with Leif’s familiar scent. “Hey Sam, take a breath, okay?”

She turned to look at her packmate, glancing back to her table as she did so. Roxy was looking at her, concerned. She must have felt her rage and sent Leif to calm her down. “R-right. Thanks.”

“Just drop it, man. She’s right, it’s none of our business anyway,” Drew said. “Besides, even if what you said was true, that just sounds like self-defence to me. If that guy really did all that stuff to her, he deserved it. Doesn’t make her a murderer.”

“Damn right,” Lukas added.

Simon scoffed. “Whatever. She’s still creepy.”

“Watch it,” Sam spat. She started heading back to her table, but changed her mind and turned around for one last thing. “Oh, and just for the record, seeing the aftermath doesn’t count as being there. Roxy told me about everything that happened, and my family is close friends with the lead detective, not just some random grunt. So yeah, I do know more about it than you. Next time, think before you open your mouth.”

With that, she turned on her heel and stomped back to their table, Leif in tow. She settled down next to Roxy and took her hand again as Simon started muttering under his breath.

“How the hell did she even hear me from over there?”

The question seemed to spark something in Drew, judging by the way his eyebrows suddenly shot up in surprise. He locked eyes with Sam across the room, an expression of curiosity on his face. She stared back, trying to parse what he was thinking. He didn’t just brush the question off like she thought he would. It was like he was genuinely giving it some thought. Sam couldn’t figure out what to make of it, what to make of him. Leif seemed to like him, Roxy said that she couldn’t care less, but Sam was still unsure. New people were uncomfortable. Hell, the last new person that tried to get to know them ended up trying to kill them. He didn’t seem like a threat, and he was a lot more likeable than Blaine, but there was just… something that was throwing her off. Part of her was tempted to flash her eyes at him, just to see if he might be a werewolf, but the smarter half of her brain advised against that.

“Hey, c-could we go outside, please? It’s too loud in here,” Roxy muttered.

Sam finally broke off from her staring contest with Drew to smile at her mate. “Sure, hun.”

They all got up and made their way out of the cafeteria, and Sam felt Drew’s eyes boring into the back of her head the whole way.

—

It was a beautiful Saturday. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and as usual, Leif was cooped up in her room playing Minecraft. Usually, she’d be playing with Roxy, but she had PT today, and was usually far too worn out to do anything other than flop into bed afterwards. She'd still extended an invitation just in case, but Roxy hadn't even seen it yet, let alone replied.

She was working her way through a cave when her phone started loudly buzzing on her desk. The screen lit up with Sam’s contact information, represented by a blurry picture that Leif had somehow managed to capture of Sam sneezing in her wolf form. The image never failed to make her smile. She answered the call and held the phone up to her ear. “Yo, Sammie. What’s up, babe?”

“Hey, Leif,” she answered, her husky voice tinged with a hint of concern. “Um, are you busy right now?”

“No, not really. Why?”

“Could you do me a huge favour and go check on Roxy, please? Her PT didn’t go super well, and it feels like she’s really freaking out. She’s home alone and not answering the phone or anything. I would go and check myself, but I’m stuck at work.”

Leif immediately logged out and shut off her computer as Sam spoke. She jumped up out of her chair to get ready. “Don’t worry, I got this. Can you feel anything specific?”

“It feels like one of her episodes, but other than that, I’m really not sure.”

“Alright. Don’t worry, Sam, she’ll be okay. I’ll get over there and get back to you in no time.”

“Thank you so much, dude. I’ll pay you back for this.”

“Nah, don’t mention it. I’m gonna get ready now, so I’ll talk soon, okay?”

“Okay, bye. Thanks again.”

Sam hung up and Leif threw on some pants and shoes, racing out the door and down the street towards Roxy’s. She jogged at a steady pace and managed to get there within five minutes, unlocking the front door with the spare key that was hidden in the bushes and going inside. The first thing she noticed was that the house was completely silent. There was no audible crying or screaming, so that was probably a good sign that Roxy’s episode wasn’t too bad, though there was really no way to be sure until she found her.

“Roxy? It’s Leif, Sam sent me. Are you alright?”

Hearing no answer, Leif made her way upstairs and towards Roxy’s room. She knocked on the door politely before entering. At first glance, it appeared to be empty. Roxy’s wheelchair sat in the corner and her crutches were strewn across the floor haphazardly, along with a few loose items of clothing. Her glasses and phone were on the bedside table. Leif couldn’t imagine she would’ve gone far without them.

“Rox? Are you in here?”

It was so faint that she almost missed it; the barest trace of a whimper, coming from somewhere near the bed. Her heart clenched a little in her chest as she realised where Roxy was. She walked over to the bed and laid down on the floor, peeking under it. Sure enough, Roxy was under there, curled up in a ball and shivering, staring at her with wide, teary eyes.

“Hey, Rox. Don’t worry, it’s just me. You wanna come out?” Leif asked in a soothing voice.

Roxy shook her head emphatically, and Leif did her best to keep her confusion off her face. If Roxy thought that she was mad or disappointed in her, it would only make the situation worse. That was a lesson they’d all learnt the hard way. “That’s okay. Do you want to tell me why?”

Roxy made no move to reply. She just kept staring at Leif as though she was trying to figure out if she was a threat, or, more likely, if she was even real. It had been a while since she’d seen Roxy go completely non-verbal like this. It reminded her of a bad panic attack she’d had back in middle school, where Roxy had completely shut down after finding a note with a death threat in her locker, just days after getting outed to their cohort due to a failed attempt to ask out the girl she liked. It never ended up amounting to anything, thankfully, but based on how she helped Roxy through it back then, Leif was inspired to try a different approach. “Can I join you?”

After a moment of hesitation, Roxy slowly nodded. Leif squeezed her way under the bed until she was next to her friend, ensuring she made no sudden movements as she did so. She smiled comfortingly. “Hi. This is cozy, isn’t it?”

Roxy didn’t reply, but she did loosen up a little, some of the tension draining from her body. She was still eyeing Leif warily, though. It was time for step two. “Am I allowed to touch you?”

Roxy seemed to deliberate over the question for a long time. Eventually, she reached out and carefully took Leif’s hand, bringing it up to her face and placing it against her cheek. As soon as her hand made contact, Roxy’s features flashed with relief and tears sprang up in her eyes. Her eyelids fluttered shut and she needily leaned into the touch. Leif smiled and gently let her fingers caress Roxy’s cheek, her thumb running along the rough skin of her scar. The attempt at comfort was successful enough to crack through whatever was keeping Roxy from making a sound, and a quiet sob slipped from between her lips. Leif shuffled a little closer and pulled her friend against her chest, cradling her as she broke down.

She gently rocked back and forth as Roxy sniffled and cried, whispering comforting nothings against her hair. Thankfully, it didn’t take long for her to get it out of her system and eventually she quietened. “Sorry,” she muttered, her voice quiet and rough.

“Nothing to be sorry for, Rox. You wanna move up to your bed now?”

Roxy nodded against her chest and together they slowly shuffled out from Roxy’s hiding place. Leif helped her up to the bed and settled down next to her, leaving some space between them that Roxy quickly closed until their legs were touching. Clearly, she still wanted some more comfort, so Leif shifted around until she was lying on the bed and gestured for Roxy to follow. She crawled over and nestled into the crook of her arm, laying with her head on Leif’s chest.

“So, do you wanna talk about what happened?”

Roxy let out a long sigh, accentuated with a sniffle. “Just… a bad day. PT sucked, then Sam dropped me off and I was alone. Something… something triggered me and it spiralled into… into what you just saw. I thought… I thought he was in the house. I-I had to hide.”

Leif ran a hand through Roxy’s hair comfortingly. “Well, you’re not alone anymore. Can I ask what it was that set it off?”

Roxy groaned. “It’s honestly really stupid.”

“Try me.”

Roxy remained silent for a few seconds before answering. “I… I noticed a couple of grey hairs growing, and it was kinda just the last straw of shit stressing me out. I broke down a little bit.”

Leif sighed. “I’m sorry today sucked for you. But hey, on the bright side, tons of people find grey hairs attractive, so I’m sure you have nothing to worry about!”

Roxy looked up at her exasperatedly. “Yeah, on older people. I’m going grey at seventeen, dude. I’m not even in my twenties yet. It’s not hot, it’s sad.”

Leif shrugged. “I dunno, I still think it’s cool. It adds to your emo vibe.”

Roxy glared. “I’m not emo.”

Leif raised an eyebrow. “You’re literally wearing an MCR shirt right now.”

Roxy grunted and put her head back down. “Whatever. I just like their music.”

Leif chuckled and leaned her head back against the pillow. They laid there together in silence for a little while, just soaking in the calm atmosphere of Roxy’s familiar room. Leif pulled out her phone and texted Sam to let her know that everything was okay before scrolling mindlessly through apps as Roxy rested on top of her. It was a nice moment that reminded her of when they were younger, coming home from school and flopping onto a bed together for a nap.

Her phone chimed with a notification; a message from Drew.

Drew

(3:31pm) Yo, u wanna do smth? I’m bored af and dunno what there is to do here

She hesitated. On one hand, she was eager to hang out with him some more, and this was the perfect opportunity to do so. On the other, Roxy needed her far more than he did right now, and she wasn’t about to abandon her best friend just to go and hang out with a guy, no matter how much the thought of seeing him made her heart flutter in her chest.

“Who was that?” Roxy asked, lifting her head.

“Oh, just Drew,” Leif replied.

Roxy raised an eyebrow at her with a knowing smirk. “Just Drew, huh?”

Leif frowned. “What are you insinuating?”

“I sense the beginnings of a new crush,” Roxy teased in a sing-song voice.

Leif scoffed. “What? Pfft, no way.”

“Then why did your heart start beating faster after you read his message?”

Leif paused for a second before conceding. “Okay, fine. Maybe I find him a little hot. Doesn’t mean anything’s gonna happen any time soon. I still need some time to get my head on straight after what happened last time, and who knows if he would even be into me, anyway? He doesn’t know that I’m…” She gestured vaguely down her body. “You know.”

“I wouldn’t count you out just yet. You’re good-looking, fit, funny, and can probably kick his ass. What’s not to like?” She grinned as Leif laughed. “What did he want, anyway?”

“He asked if we could hang out. He wants me to show him around town, I think.”

“And? Are you gonna?”

Leif thought about it. “Nah, I’d feel bad about leaving you behind.”

“It’s fine, I don’t mind. I’m feeling a lot better now, anyway.”

Leif hesitated. “I don’t know. I’d still feel bad about it. Oh, I know, why don’t you come with us?”

Roxy considered it. “I dunno, I’m pretty worn out from PT. Eh, I guess I could just take my wheelchair. Yeah, alright, I’ll tag along, if only to get some sunlight.”

“Awesome,” Leif replied with a smile. “You won’t regret it.”

—

Well, Leif hadn’t been wrong, per se, she just hadn’t been entirely right, either. Roxy wasn’t entirely regretting going out with her and Drew. She was having a decent time sitting back and listening to their conversation as the cool September breeze tousled her hair. What she could do without, however, was the stares she was constantly getting from anyone they passed on the street. She understood it, she knew that her face was certainly… interesting to look at now, not to mention the fact that almost everyone knew who she was, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t frustrating. It was getting to the point where she had to consciously resist the urge to shout at people for it.

Still though, it was nice hearing the smile in Leif’s voice as she told Drew about all the things to do around town (even if there really wasn’t much aside from the bowling alley and shopping). She really hoped that it worked out for her, especially after Brooke. Something like that would give anybody trust issues. There was a lapse in conversation as they aimlessly wandered through town and Leif, who was clearly far too eager to fill the silence, said possibly the worst thing you could ever say to someone who you were hoping to get closer to.

“Has anyone ever told you that you have a very dog-like face?” she asked, not a hint of malice in her voice.

Roxy almost fell out of her chair in shock. Drew, to his credit, just laughed it off.

“Uh, no? I-I… sorry, I’m a little confused, are you trying to insult or compliment me?”

“Neither. It’s just an observation. You’ve got those sort of downturned eyes, kinda like a dog. Sam does too, doesn’t she, Rox?”

Roxy sputtered hopelessly, still struggling to control her laughter. “I-I guess? I dunno, I certainly wouldn’t call it dog-like. The word you’re looking for is friendly. She has a friendly face.”

“Yeah, I can see that,” Drew said. “She can be scary when she wants to be, though, like when she yelled at Simon the other day. She threatened to break him in half and, honestly, she probably could. Her arms are even bigger than mine!” He flexed to accentuate his point and Roxy watched on in amusement as Leif visibly gulped. “What’s her deal, anyway? Yeah, Simon was mouthin’ off about stuff he shouldn’t have been, but he was whispering and she somehow heard him from across the cafeteria. I ain’t saying she was in the wrong there, I just can’t figure out how she would’a done that.”

Roxy and Leif shared a quick, mildly nervous glance. “I dunno, she’s super protective of us, especially Roxy, so if she heard him mention her, she probably just started paying extra attention to you guys. Maybe she read his lips or something, I dunno.”

Drew gave it some thought. “Yeah, I guess that explains it. Huh… I thought she might…” He shook his head. “Nevermind.”

“What?”

Drew got nervous all of a sudden. “I-it’s nothing, don’t worry about it.”

Roxy frowned, alarm bells ringing in the back of her head. She was about to push harder when she spotted something out of the corner of her eye that drew her attention away. “Hey guys, hold up. Is that a cat?”

It was laying against some garbage bags in an alleyway, its black fur making it almost indistinguishable from them. It seemed to be starving, so thin that she could clearly make out its ribs. Honestly, she couldn’t even tell if it was alive. From this distance, it looked completely still. Something deep in her heart squeezed painfully. “Hey, Leif? 7-11 is just around the corner, could you do me a favour and go grab a tin of tuna or something? I’ll pay you back for it.”

Leif seemed to understand her intention and left right away, taking Drew with her. She carefully approached the cat and, with much relief, was able to make out the slight rise-and-fall of its chest as it breathed. She was glad that it was alive, but the poor thing clearly needed some help. She must have made some sort of noise as she wheeled closer, because the cat suddenly startled and jumped up, arching its back and hissing at her. Now that it was up and moving, she could see that it only had one eye, and was missing one of its front legs. A little spark of sorrow came alight in her chest.

She leaned down and held her hand out, close to the ground. “Hey, little guy. It’s okay, I’m not gonna hurt you. You want some food? How about some pets?”

The cat eyed her hand warily, but its body language shifted into something a little less defensive. It cautiously limped over and sniffed her hand, clearly ready to bolt away at the slightest hint of danger. Apparently satisfied by whatever it found in her scent, the cat butted its head against her hand and allowed her to scratch it behind a notched ear. It started purring and Roxy’s whole body fizzled with happiness.

All of a sudden, the cat jumped up onto her lap, peering up at her with its one green eye. It started meowing incessantly, butting its head against her hands until she started scratching it again. A laugh bubbled up from her chest. “Oh, you are just precious, aren’t you?”

“Woah, are you sure you should be doing that? What if it has diseases?” Drew said as he and Leif came back around the corner. The cat immediately recoiled from his voice and hissed at him, leaning up against Roxy’s body as if it was looking for protection.

“Hey now, it’s alright,” she whispered to it in a soothing voice. “He’s not gonna hurt you.”

The cat remained wary of him, but it did relax some at her voice. “It really likes you, huh?” he asked.

“Roxy’s always been an animal person. She even saved a wolf from a bear trap once,” Leif said, approaching with the requested tin of tuna in hand. Roxy took it and cracked it open, holding it down where the cat could reach it. It dove straight in, hungrily slurping up the fish and chirping happily.

She stroked down its back as it ate, and noticed something that set her heart on edge. There were a few hairless patches along its back that felt a lot like scars. Slightly concerned, she leaned over to get a better look at its face again. What she found filled her with anger. She’d assumed that the missing eye and leg were just deformities, but looking closer she could see a scarred, hairless line over where the cat’s left eye should have been, with a similar scar over the stump of its leg. This wasn’t all just from some accident, somebody had hurt this poor cat.

The cat finished its meal and looked up at her, blinking innocently and licking its chops. Tears formed in her eyes as something swelled in her chest. Connection.

“Oh, you’re like me, aren’t you?” she whispered, scratching it behind both ears as she cradled its face. She sniffled back her emotions, trying to smile. “Well, no one’s gonna hurt you anymore, okay? No one’s gonna hurt either of us anymore. You can come home with me, and we can be safe together. Does that sound nice?”

The cat meowed back at her, standing on its hind legs and nuzzling her face, slightly dislodging her glasses. She laughed wetly. “I’ll take that as a yes.”

She pulled out her phone with her free hand and called her dad, holding it up to her ear. He picked up within two rings.

“Hey, sweetie. Is everything alright?”

“Y-yeah, dad. Hey, I was wondering, do you think we could adopt a cat?”

---

A/N: what do y'all think Roxy's gonna name her new cat? (hint: its a boy)

sorry for the longer wait for this chapter, had a bit of a block. Wait might be a bit longer for the next one too, as i have a lot of ideas for this current arc to sort through. I don't want it to overstay its welcome, y'know?

thanks for reading! luv u all <3