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[ Word was, a new student was here at Beacon Hills. Sarah heard it through Julian, who heard it through Ileana who saw him when she dropped by administration earlier this morning for something or the other, and now the whole school, particularly his grade was buzzing over it.
Beacon Hills didn't get fresh blood often.
Peter had yet to see the transfer so far, but second period had just started. The day was young. And it was PE, which meant a warmup run, which was a perfectly good time for introductions and gauging what this newcomer was like. Or maybe even a locker room assessment, seeing as how he's fairly sure said transfer just walked in, silence falling briefly over everyone before starting up again with a significant amount of poorly hidden glances thrown towards him.
Then the bell was ringing, and everyone swarmed out into the crisp October day. The air had a bite to it, the brilliant sunlight barely any compensation for it. The new student's hair was buttery gold beneath it, a cautious perimeter of isolation formed around him until Peter sidled over and smiled. ]
The burden of being new and an unknown quantity. Don't worry, they'll get over it soon. [ He held out his hand. ] I'm Peter.
Beacon Hills didn't get fresh blood often.
Peter had yet to see the transfer so far, but second period had just started. The day was young. And it was PE, which meant a warmup run, which was a perfectly good time for introductions and gauging what this newcomer was like. Or maybe even a locker room assessment, seeing as how he's fairly sure said transfer just walked in, silence falling briefly over everyone before starting up again with a significant amount of poorly hidden glances thrown towards him.
Then the bell was ringing, and everyone swarmed out into the crisp October day. The air had a bite to it, the brilliant sunlight barely any compensation for it. The new student's hair was buttery gold beneath it, a cautious perimeter of isolation formed around him until Peter sidled over and smiled. ]
The burden of being new and an unknown quantity. Don't worry, they'll get over it soon. [ He held out his hand. ] I'm Peter.
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Big city boy dropped into a small town. It must be quite the change of pace. He wondered what brought Chris's family all the way from the other side of the coast to sleepy little Beacon Hills. Peter's born and bred here and hadn't ever gone much further than to San Francisco, but that would change after graduation. The itch was already in his feet. It wouldn't be forever, because Beacon Hills was home, but he wanted to see what else was out there.
Chris was a piece of that out there. Honestly, he's surprised no one's bothered to introduce themselves to him yet. Blue eyed and pretty was usually Ileana's type. Then again— only second period, yadda yadda yadda. Everyone would descend in a horde during the lunch time rush.
Offering Chris his most charming smile, Peter hummed. ] You can call me that if I'm the first one to say hello. And the only thing you need to worry about is mystery meat Monday in the cafeteria.
[ Which his nose told him wasn't actually anything harmful, only plain unappetising. ] But Boston to Beacon Hills— that's a pretty big move.
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I'll make sure to bring my own lunch then. But it can't be any worse than the food in Ohio. They were trying to cut down on the population, one slab of glob at a time. [ Mouth twitching for a moment, he shut the locker with a soft thunk, turning to face Peter more. The coach hadn't blown the whistle yet so they seemed safe to linger in the locker room for the time being. ]
One of many moves. [ He shrugged a shoulder absently. ] This is my sixth high school. Ger-my dad travels a lot for business. [ While he never called the man 'dad' if he could help it, he knew it would bring too much attention if he didn't in certain situations. Why wouldn't someone use the word 'dad', after all? ] My little sister was more upset about it.
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[ Peter's got no cause to be unfriendly. It got him farther than being cold, and he enjoyed being social. At the center of attention.
The locker room bustled with activity, classmates getting changed, friends ribbing one another. Already ready to go, he was free to linger and give Chris a good grilling before class started, even if it didn't always smell like a bed of roses in here. Sometimes the amount of fragranced sprays in here made him want to sneeze.
His eyebrows rose, and he whistled, a low and impressed. ]
Impressive. [ And unimaginable to him. A wolf without a set territory was a lost one. ] Well, I don't blame her. It can't be easy having to start over all the time. I think I'd hate it. Don't you?
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[ He shrugged as he leaned against the lockers, keeping an ear out for the whistle. Missing anything would result in, well, punishments from Gerard. He had to be perfect at all times. ]
I'm used to it. I don't really know how to settle in anywhere. [ He tilted his head to the side. ] I take it you've never moved anywhere? Been here your whole life? What is there to do here?
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[ When the whistle blew, Peter moved towards it without breaking off the conversation, following the stream of boys towards the door. ]
Beacon Hills has pretty good sports programs. I'm on the basketball team, but there's a few others. Soccer, swim, rugby, lacrosse. Debate or chess, if that's what you're into. You do anything?
[ They were going into a set of warm up stretches, and he bent fluidly. Going through the paces, keeping up appearances. ] Other than that, there's the preserve. It gets a lot of hikers.
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And yet.
His eyes followed Peter's graceful movements, far more fluid than what a basketball player would be capable of. Much more like a dancer or a gymnast. ]
I swim but Ger--my dad would probably find it a waste of time. [ Moving through the stretches, he deliberately made himself appear a little wobbly to again not pull too much attention. He needed to at least appear unassuming and try to fade into the woodwork. ]
[ The preserve caught his attention and he filed it away to look into later. ] Do you hike? [ He already knew the answer before he even asked but he may as well take an interest. ] I did a lot in Colorado. Really gonna miss the snow. Everything looks so new when it's snowing.
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[ He could feel Chris's eyes on him. Nothing out of the ordinary— he's used to being the center of attention, and the Hales weren't particularly strict on how much or little they should stand out. All they wanted was to live a normal life, and popular teenagers were a dozen a pop. Besides, Peter's never careless. Nothing he did was ever more than on par with a talented human's abilities. ]
Sorry to disappoint, it doesn't snow much around here. But I think the view's nice enough without it. If you ever wanna check it out, I'll take you. I know the trails.
[ Unfortunately for Chris, he'd stand out for a while, at least until the novelty of him and his family wore off, or something else caught Beacon Hills' High's attention. ]
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Not at all. I'm actually ahead of where you guys currently are here. He just feels that academics matter more than sports. [ Joining the swim team did appeal to him, though, and he never had anything for himself. ] Maybe I'll try and see if there are any openings. [ It would be his first slight rebellion against Gerard and he kind of liked the thought of it. ]
[ The offer surprised him enough he paused in the stretching for a few whole seconds. Not much and most wouldn't notice such a thing but still the falter in his hands had been there. No one ever took much of an interest in him before and he didn't really know how to have a friend. Gerard kept him fairly isolated other than being around fellow hunters, most of which were much older than him. Most hunter families started out their children older and not at the tender age of seven. ]
That'd be great -- I mean if you have time to. I'd like to see more the town I'll call home for at least a couple months. [ If only he knew the type of beacon for the supernatural the town possessed and how they would stay there for not just a few months but for years. It'd be the place where he finished his high school career and where he'd attempt to build a life for himself. ] Maybe longer. [ He paused for a moment. ] If there's like any kind of odd plant life, herbs or animals. My - dad works with that stuff.
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Back then, Peter would've been unable to pinpoint what, exactly, about Chris roused his interest. Maybe it was the undercurrent of shyness about him, the nervousness and how he drew inward like a turtle trying to protect itself from something and his own curiosity prodded him into trying to lure him out through sheer charisma. That, and unrelenting friendliness. ]
They're always looking for people. The chlorine— [ Peter wrinkled his nose in distaste. ] — it makes me sneeze.
[ Somewhere to the left, the teacher's making an attempt to coral them, the sharp blast of the whistle signalling the beginning of their run. Going slowly, he kept up an easy chatter. ] Working it around practice shouldn't be that hard. Just let me know when's good for you. [ Since Chris was fresh arrived and just moved in and all. Eyebrows raised, he hummed. ] This is California, not the Amazon. I don't think there's anything like that. Is he a ranger?
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No one else would understand, though, and certainly not Gerard nor Kate.
With a shy smile, Chris nodded his head, following after the others to prepare to run the lap. Given he ran five miles a day to keep in top form, a few laps were practically nothing. ] I actually love the smell of chlorine. That's probably really weird huh? [ He preferred it over the clinical scents usually surrounding his house and life in general. The smell of bleach lingered nearly all the time and Chris loathed the smell since it reminded him of things he preferred to not dwell on very long. ]
Does the basketball team and swim teams practice at the same times? [ He looked over at Peter as they ran, noting the similar ease. Interesting. ] I'll check my schedule and get back to you. [ Teasing? Chris Argent? It never happened and somehow he felt a little lighter than he usually did.
A ranger; Gerard could only wish. ] Something like that. His job has taken us all over the United States. Few times overseas. I've been to France a lot and Greece a couple of times. [ The Argents were from France, after all, and Chris spoke perfect French. He spoke a few languages and could get by with most others. Having an eidetic memory sure helped with trying to reach Gerard's nearly unreachable expectations. He did a better job intellectually than he did physically. Gerard often yelled he lacked the stomach to be a true hunter and he needed to stop being a baby about blood and killing. ] We were in France not too long ago. I'm sorry if I suddenly slip into French.
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Settling into the rhythm of the run, the muscles in his body adjusting to the stretch, he ran. Most of his athleticism could be attributed to the work he put into basketball; his genuine enjoyment of it meant he went to every practice and drilled faithfully— that, and being team captain meant setting an example. Hearing the swish of the ball through the hoop without touching the sides was, to this day, still immensely satisfying.
He ducked his head forward in a breathless laugh, veering towards Chris just enough to jostle him with his shoulder playfully. ] I wouldn't know, I'm too busy running the basketball practice.
[ "Something like that" was an ambiguous answer at best, but Peter's unperturbed by it. The nature of Chris's father's job would leak out sooner or later, in a town like Beacon Hills. He put Chris's caginess down to something too difficult to explain in the middle of running, or something he himself didn't fully understand. Besides, his attention's hooked by the mention of travel, of faraway countries and towns he's never been to. ]
What was it like?
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Don't you have a smell or something you associate with basketball? Something that takes you right there? [ He couldn't help but to ask, looking over at Peter for a moment. ] Uh - leather - or something? [ Look at how much he knew about basketball. ]
[ Running basketball practice huh? The captain then, which made sense with the air Peter had about him. It didn't turn him off as much as it would have on someone else. ] Maybe I'll come to a practice.
[ What? Why did he even say such a thing? He never willingly offered to spend time with anyone. It made him more than a little odder than most his age but everything about his life made him different. Most people just didn't know about all the whys and hows. ]
France? [ A faint smile filled his face for a brief moment. ] I loved it and really miss the country. Everything felt like - it had so much life there. So much to do and see. I loved the outdoor cafes and would read there and drink tea. [ He shook his head slightly. ] Probably not the most exciting thing. My France experiences would probably bore you. [ While the others in the class gawked, no one approached them or moved too close. ] Where have you always wanted to go? I might have been there. We've been in the US most of the time but we've gone overseas a lot.
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The sound, maybe. How your shoes squeak when you're playing. [ Basketballs smelled nothing like leather, and he cocked an eyebrow at Chris, the smirk playing around the edges of his mouth. ] Basketballs smell like rubber.
[ Smirk smoothing out into an honest smile, he nodded. ] Sure. Maybe seeing it will lure you over to the dark side.
[ If Peter thought the offer odd, nothing of it showed. As far as he was concerned, there wasn't anything particularly out of ordinary about the conversation at all, other than how well Chris was keeping it up despite the run. Granted, their pace wasn't extraordinarily fast, but nonetheless, it was impressive. He wasn't kidding about stealing him away from the swim team. ]
Come on, I told you I've never gone out of the country, and you think hearing about far far away would be boring? [ Far from it. ] If it's France, then to the Louvre. Otherwise, maybe there's this library in England. The British Museum Reading Room. I'd like to go there.
[ And possibly live there until he'd read everything in it. An impossible dream. ]
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I'll confess I've watched like a grand total of fifteen minutes of basketball in my entire life. [ A nearly sheepish look crossed his face for a moment but disappeared as quickly as it came. Usually, he maintained a rather passive look, nearly stoic on his face. It made it harder for people to read him or to judge what he could be all about, both benefits in the long run.
Peter not turning him down for some reason meant a lot when he never put himself out there. This happened to be the most he connected with a non-hunter in years. ]
Well, more like what I'm usually into no one else is. [ Such as old books, ancient weaponry and the like. He took up archery at the age of twelve and knew how to wield a sword and shoot a gun. He also found jousting fascinating and always wanted to learn to fence.
He made a note to remember Peter enjoyed books as well. ] Any specific topics interest you most? I went to a lot of museums all the places we went. By myself because Kate found them dull and said they smell weird. The artwork was something else. [ He nearly confessed he wished he knew how to paint but swallowed it down. Confessing too much gave leverage to others and Chris couldn't afford to expose anything. Opening himself up even a little meant letting a lot of other things out into the sunlight.
The whistle blew to signal everyone to break into stations for the rest of the class. They could pick the weight room, continue walking around the mile or participating in the game of baseball. Chris hesitated in his choice to see what Peter wanted to pick.
Well.
Damn.
So much for not opening himself up at all. ]
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In any case, he's used to having eyes on him. His mask was different from Chris's though— less self defense and completely meant for the benefit of charming people to his own end. Not that it was all an act. He liked figuring people's buttons out, and high school politics, while similar to pack politics, was an entirely different beast of its own. It was fascinating. ]
Everything. [ Knowledge was power, but beyond that, there was a pure pleasure to be found in learning something new. Even if it was the truth, it was an unsatisfying answer, so he tacked on: ] I have a soft spot for mythology. What about you?
[ Museums were an unusual place of interest for a teenage boy, and Peter didn't need to be human to know that. But Chris was shaping up to be an anomaly in the best way possible. ]
Kate's your sister?
[ There's a moment of suspension— Peter looking at Chris looking at him, and then his face relaxed into a smile. He slowed down to a walk, glancing at Chris. ]
The weight room's stuffy this time of year.
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Everyone had something to hide. ]
You'd have to really work to keep my eyes on you. My eyes are known to wander if something doesn't really interest me. [ His very, very poor attempt to 'charm' and 'flirt' back but he didn't have a lot of practice! He only attempted 'extra friendliness' once while they were in Chicago and the disaster kind of sworn him off other attempts. ]
[ Mythology actually made a lot of sense with the details Chris already gathered about the guy. He wondered if Peter believed in any of the tales to apply to his own life? If only he knew the actual truth behind some of the creatures. The darkest things to crawl along the earth. ] Ancient history. Knights. Medieval weaponry. That kind of thing. I've always found Ancient Rome really fascinating. [ In some ways, he lived the life of a gladiator. ]
[ He nodded slowly. ] Yeah, Kate's my usually annoying little sister. Just us and - my dad. [ The label sending bitterness continuously into his mouth. ]
Walking it is, then. I prefer being outdoors if I can help it.
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It's knowing that there was more to mythology than them being mere stories which made them fascinating to him; the grain of truth hidden in each one, the tales of monsters and supernatural that were more real than anyone suspected. The irony of it was rich. But with Beacon Hills' history, he had a feeling all of his reading would come in handy one day. ]
Fighting and slaying monsters. A fan of epics? Or just action and adventure?
[ There was no shortage of any of those in Chris's particular scope of interest. Nothing too weird about it either. Plenty of people liked history and a little bit of escapism.
He kicked the grass absently. A three person family. Small, by his own standards. What was it like to live in a house where pockets of quiet were common? Peter wouldn't know.
Bitterness smelled exactly like it sounded, and not even the crisp breeze in the air could snatch it away entirely from Chris every time he mentioned his family. He laughs. ] Is she that bad? What's it like? I have a big family, and there's always someone hanging around the house.
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Both. When I was younger, my mom read a lot about dragons and I guess my interest started there. [ The earlier bitterness didn't translate to mentioning his mother at all. Only wistfulness lingered and more than a little longing. He missed her so badly everyday and sometimes her loss made him so angry at the supernatural world. Without it, she would still be alive. Until his last breath, he'd blame Gerard for what happened to her. ]
She's just a lot. She talks a lot and has so much energy. [ He shook his head. ] She's also really, really bossy, demanding and always gets her way. [ Daddy's little princess. ] Do you have a lot of siblings? I don't have a big immediate family but in Paris I've got a pretty big extended one. [ Each one more bloodthirsty than the last minus his mother's side of the family. They were outside of the hunter organization and it always surprised him how Gerard married her in the first place. ] If I randomly slip into French, I'm sorry.
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Humans understood the idea of pack to an extent, something of its structure reflected in the support of a family, but they had no idea what it was truly like. ]
Isn't that because she's the youngest? I get it. I don't have a younger sister, but I have a younger brother, and an older sister. A ton of cousins— and my niece and nephew. [ Talia's kids. ] But they don't all live with us.
[ He smiled at Chris. ] I won't make fun of you too much for it. Are you going to take French? It should be an easy pass for you.
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[ Niece and nephew? ] Your older sister must be a lot older huh? [ How would it be to have such a big family? A close one by the sounds of it. ] Must not be a lot of quiet.
Would kind of be cheating, wouldn't it? I mean, I'm fluent in French. [ He gave a slight shrug as the whistle for the class blew and everyone started rushing towards the doors to get back inside within the locker rooms. ] What's your next class? [ Why did he even care? Nothing about Peter made any kind of sense and a danger rested with his interest. A very, very toxic danger. ]
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It might sound overwhelming to anyone not used to it, to someone like Chris, with his small family, but Peter loved it. Loved everyone in his family, even if everyone got on each other's nerves sometimes and fights broke out over the pettiest of things, because at the end of the day, they were still family. Pack.
A little privacy would be nice though. ] A decade or so older, give or take. And no, it's always busy. But you get used to it.
[ He winked at Chris. ] I'd call it playing to your strengths. I have English next, what about you? Do you have your schedule in your bag?
[ He could look it over, see which classes they shared. ]
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Digging through his bag once they reached the lockers again, Chris handed off the schedule. Why did he keep seeking Peter out? It made little sense and he knew the underlining dangers with the kind of lifestyle surrounding him. Getting anyone else involved would be reckless, even in just a distant sort of way. If nothing else, there would be too many excuses offered and lies to weave in and out of everything. ]
I'm still trying to figure out where everything is. The school isn't that big but new places -- [ He gave a half shrug and it only faintly occurred to him how his remark sounded like an invitation. ]
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Peter did enjoy a mystery.
He took the schedule, running his finger down the page. ]
We don't have English together, but I'm in both of your classes after lunch. [ New places were confusing. Chris didn't need to follow that up for Peter to take the unspoken, unextended invitation. He smiled, and handed the schedule back to Chris. ] I'll find you later in the cafeteria, and I can walk you to the rooms? Since we'll be going the same way.
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He knew he couldn't.
Taking the schedule back with a shy smile, Chris nodded his head.
What in the hell? ]
I'll see you at lunch then? I probably should have brought something. Cafeterias are never known for five star meals. [ He shoved the schedule into his bag, taking a few steps back but not leaving just yet. ]
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And that wasn't happening. He marshaled himself and grinned at Chris. ]
Don't worry. It isn't Monday, remember?
[ No Monday Mystery Meat to contend with, just the typical cafeteria hash. Peter jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. ] Gotta run. My locker's back there, and I need to grab my books for next class. I'll see you later, Chris.
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