you know time crawls on while you're waiting for the song to start...
Part 1
Patrick barely looked up when Pepper sat down next to him in the cafeteria; his eyes flicked up to make sure it was who he thought and then he focused back on the mythology book opened in front of him. A little of the tension bled out of his shoulders, a little more relaxed now that he wasn't alone and the rest of it disappeared completely as he heard Pete and Tony shoving and insulting each other as they came into the room. A quick glance up confirmed that they were going to stand in line along with Bruce.
“Aren't you going to eat?” Pepper questioned as she opened up the container holding the cut up vegetables she always brought from her house. She offered it to Patrick as she peered down at what he was reading.
Patrick took a carrot and absently dipped it the ranch dressing on her tray. “Yeah, Pete can grab me some food,” Patrick answered without bothering to raise his voice, he knew Pete would be able to hear him.
Sure enough, Tony immediately started teasing Pete about being dick whipped while Bruce just laughed at them and handed Pete an extra tray. Patrick exchanged a knowing smirk with Pepper -if Pete was dick whipped then Tony was beyond pussy whipped- and then frowned when he realized Mikey and Joe weren't there yet.
Even as he looked around, Joe came in and immediately headed for their table, Mikey a step behind him. “What the fuck, man,” Joe sighed as they sat down across from them. “I swear, freshmen get dumber every year.”
“Three of them couldn't find the library,” Mikey supplied. “Joe tried to give them directions to the elementary school and Harris overheard and spent ten minutes ranting at us.”
“Sorry about the extra suicides at practice,” Joe added cheerfully before he shoved his sandwich in his mouth.
“Thanks a lot, Trohman,” Tony sniped as he slid into his seat next to Pepper; he pressed his thigh against hers and some of his usual restlessness settled at the touch of his mate, even through two layers of clothes.
“Yeah, some of us aren't all -” Bruce told him as he made a clawing gesture with his free hand, “- and it's a pain in the ass for us.”
“Here, babe,” Pete said and set a tray with a cheeseburger, fries and a soda in front of Patrick. He sat down with his own tray of food, close enough that Patrick had to elbow him a few inches away so he could actually feed himself.
“Thanks,” Patrick told him; he closed the book and moved it to the middle of the table before it got ruined.
“Incubuses?” Pepper asked with a raised eyebrow; she tapped her finger on the book at the confused look on Joe's face
Patrick shrugged and finished chewing before he answered. “You never know; after that mess with the faeries over the summer -”
Everyone groaned and even Mikey looked pained at the reminder of that particular fiasco.
“- I thought it would be a good idea to brush up on some other 'mythical creatures', just in case.”
“That's a good idea,” Pepper said absently; she made a quick list on her phone of different websites she knew of and a note to do a search for more later. She put her phone down and rolled her eyes at the way Ashlee kept glancing over at them from where she was sitting with her friends.
Anyone with eyes could see the way Pete adored Patrick, had even before he got bitten and realized his best friend was his mate; even during the four or five months he was dating Ashlee, he always put Patrick before anything else until he remembered that he had a girlfriend and that Ashlee was suppose to come first.
Pepper had been at the party when they had gotten together; Pete and Ashlee had gotten into another fight and she had stormed out of Bucky's house and Pete had gone to find Patrick. This was at the end of the last school year, before they had started really hanging out together, but even then Pepper could remember thinking Pete was dating the wrong person.
Tony had caught them making out on the back porch and, in an uncharacteristic show of restraint, interrupted them and made sure they left before he came back inside and told her what happened.
Pepper mentally shook herself and glanced over to see Bucky and Steve walking towards them. She carefully nudged Patrick and tilted her head when he looked at her. Patrick glanced over and grimaced; before he could say anything, Bucky was already talking.
“Tony, what's up?”
“Hey, Barnes,” Tony said evenly enough, but Pepper saw him tense up at the arrival of his other team mates. “What's going on?”
“Just wondering why you're sitting over here, instead of with the team,” Bucky answered; he gestured to the rest of the table and sneered. “I mean, these losers -”
“Jesus, Bucky,” Steve elbowed him and looked embarrassed. “Sorry, guys.”
“It's alright,” Pete drawled. “I've been called worse by better.”
“Besides, everyone at this table is on the lacrosse team, too,” Bruce pointed out dryly. “Except Pepper, of course.”
“Yeah, but Pep doesn't need a lacrosse stick and pads to kick the shit out of us,” Patrick added slyly.
“I'd rather be able to not act like a complete ass on game days, thanks guys,” Pepper told them with a laugh; she put her head on Tony's shoulder and rested her hand on his thigh. She knew contact with her helped him control the wolf and while seeing Bucky lose his shit had a certain appeal, Pepper didn't think the middle of school was the place for it.
“Jesus, Pepper, clingy much?” Bucky bitched as he waved his hand at them. “Let the guy breathe.”
“Bucky!” Steve said and punched him in the arm. “What the hell?”
“See, this is why you haven't gotten laid in months,” Joe informed him blithely. “You're an asshole and not even a funny one like Tony.”
“Gee, thanks,” Tony rolled his eyes but kept his attention on Bucky; Bucky shifted nervously at the look on the other teenager's face, unsure why he suddenly felt so uneasy.
“At least you're pretty, that kind of balances it out,” Bucky went on, doing what he always did when he felt uneasy: bullshit his way out of it and hope no one noticed. Beside him, Steve sighed and shook his head.
“Unlike Wentz over there,” Bucky rambled, unaware of the fact that half the table had frozen and the other half were looking at him like he was crazy; Patrick was one of the few things that got an immediate and, depending on what you said, violent reaction out of Pete. After getting bitten, it had just gotten worse and even the seniors didn't rag on Patrick or bother him in the halls any more. “I mean, who dumps Ashlee Simpson for Stump? Talk about a downgrade, man, he's -”
Bucky stopped and stared at the complete rage on Pete's face; Pete's eyes focused on the other teenager as he let out a choked off growl and started to stand up.
“Sit down,” Patrick hissed and yanked on his mate's arm, but Pete resisted, his attention still on Bucky. Patrick saw his fingers start to shift into claws and this time he stood up and got into Pete's face. “Sit the fuck down, Pete.”
“You guys better go, Steve,” Tony said as he looked over to where Pete was still struggling against Patrick and now Joe; Steve couldn't help but notice the edge to Tony's voice and not for the first time that year, he wondered what the hell had happened over the summer.
“Get him out of here,” Pepper said as they all got up. “Bruce and I will clean up the trays and then meet you by the jeep.”
Tony hesitated, glancing back to where Steve and Bucky were still staring at them. Pepper followed his gaze and laughed softly. “I can handle those two,” she reminded Tony and kissed him on the cheek.
“I'm not going to apologize,” Bucky hissed petulantly and shook off the hand Steve put on his shoulder. “You think I'm afraid of him? I could take -”
There was another noise from Pete and Patrick glared at Bucky before he dipped his head close to Pete's ear and murmured something; whatever it was had Pete abruptly focusing on Patrick and he let Patrick lead him out of the cafeteria, their fingers tangled together. Everyone else was ranged around them, Joe and Mikey bringing up the rear while Tony slipped in on the other side of Pete; Pete paused at the doors and looked over his shoulder, his gaze centered on Bucky. He bared his teeth at him, a warning that made Bucky twitch even if he didn't understand why, and then the doors swung shut behind them.
“You are a moron,” Pepper informed him as she started stacking trays with Bruce. “If they hadn't left, Pete would have -”
“Please,” Bucky scoffed; he still felt uneasy -something about the way Wentz acted had definitely thrown him, but that didn't mean he was gong to start acting like a pussy- but he wasn't going to let these assholes know that. “The day I can't kick Pete Wentz's ass is the day I fucken wear a dress to school.”
“That's exactly why you're going to end up getting seriously hurt one day,” Bruce told him quietly. “You've never understood that just because someone looks like you can beat them up, it doesn't mean you actually can kick their ass.”
“Do yourself a favor, leave Pete alone,” Pepper said as she grabbed Patrick's book. “Actually, stay away from all of us. It's going to get you into trouble -the kind that your father can't buy your way out of.”
“And if not for you, do it for Steve,” Bruce added. “He's probably the only person that genuinely gives a fuck about you.”
They left Bucky staring after them, more confused than ever about what was going on.
*
“Seriously, Pete, you need to control yourself,” Patrick told him; they were leaning against the side of Patrick's jeep, Pete's arm around Patrick's waist as Pete nuzzled his neck.
More than one passing freshmen stared at them, but Patrick's glare had them moving on almost immediately; Patrick wished he could blame turning into a werewolf on Pete's affectionate clingyness, but he had been like that ever since kindergarten when he used to rest his head on Patrick's stomach during nap time. Patrick had almost eleven years experience of using that glare to get people to mind their own business whenever Pete decided to be socially unacceptable levels of handsy with him -long before being a werewolf came into the equation.
“You know how many times someone's called me ugly?” Patrick went on and ignored the annoyed growl he felt more than heard. “You going to beat up all of them?”
“Yes,” Pete insisted irritably and nipped his mate's neck; Patrick shuddered and then said, “Shut it, Stark,” when he heard Tony snickering from the front of the jeep.
Patrick waited patiently and after a few minutes, Pete sighed. “I get it, all right? Wolfing out in the middle of lunch is not the best idea. I just -Jesus, 'Trick, I hate the way he acts around you, like you're not worth anything just because your mom's a nurse and you guys don't have tons of money the way his parents and the Rogers do -”
And the Starks -who had more money than most of the town put together- but while Tony could be accused of a lot of things, bullying people had never been one of them. Besides, Tony was pack and that made a huge difference.
“- and it just,” Pete paused and dropped his head onto Patrick's shoulder. “You're one of the best people I've ever known and you're smart and awesome and gorgeous and it pisses me off that he has to be such a dickhead to you every chance he gets.”
“Jesus, if I turn into a sap when I end up mated, somebody hit me,” Joe grinned as he came back around by them, Mikey just behind him.
“I could always hit you now,” Patrick threatened idly as he rested his head against Pete's for a quick minute; there was no one else around them right now except for pack and he knew he could cuddle with Pete without getting more than some good-natured ribbing from everyone.
“Come on, Patrick, you know you love us,” Mikey told him, his lips twitching slightly.
“I can't imagine why,” Pepper said as she and Bruce walked over to them; Tony jumped off of the hood, completely ignoring the annoyed noise Patrick made, and landed right next to them. She handed the book to Patrick who shrugged Pete off long enough to drop the book on his seat and then lock it back up. “The whole lot of you are a pain in the ass.”
“Aw, come on, Pep,” Tony pouted playfully. “I'm cute, after all.”
Pepper raised an eyebrow and shook her head with a laugh. “And you're lucky that you are, trust me,” she teased him and laced their hands together.
The bell rung and everyone moaned; chemistry was the only class they all had together but Harris taught it and usually managed to ruin everyone's afternoon in the process.
“I notice you never bitch about Bruce or Patrick,” Tony pointed out as they slowly made their way inside.
“Yes and that's because they don't cause as many problems as the rest of you do,” Pepper answered with a smile.
“Yeah, Team Human all the way,” Bruce smirked and fist bumped Patrick behind Pete's head.
“Ugh, do we have to?” Joe questioned as he eyed the classroom the way most people did a crime scene. “Can't Tony and Bruce just teach us in Tony's basement?”
“We'd definitely learn more,” Pete added thoughtfully.
“Get in here,” Harris thundered at them. “If you're not in your seats in two seconds, I'm going to assign you even more homework than I already had planned.”
They scrambled into the three labs in the back of the room, Pepper and Patrick in the one closest to the window, Pete and Tony in the middle while Bruce, Joe and Mikey were on the side by the wall. Tony looked over the board for a minute before he dug out his notebook and a pen and started explaining it to Pete in a low voice, sketching out the formulas Harris used in a way Pete could understand; Pete wasn't terrible at chemistry, per se, but he could never grasp anything Harris tried to teach them -mostly because Harris's idea of teaching was to yell at them and insult anyone who didn't get the material right away- and he had been failing until they switched around partners and Tony had been able to help him.
Tony, despite his complete disregard for school, was easily the smartest kid in Beacon Hills; he got and kept a 4.0 average as easily as some people failed and Patrick had never seen him even open a text book. He usually ended up quizzing everyone for tests and exams, especially when lacrosse really got started and they needed to keep their grades up. Bruce was another go-to for most of the pack because while he didn't have Tony's I.Q -not that anyone did- he had a natural aptitude for chemistry and science and was brilliant at both; he also had more patience than Tony did and was less likely to start yelling in frustration.
“Do the labs on the board and write everything down,” Harris announced as he sat down behind his desk, his attention already on the lacrosse catalog in front of him. “You know where all the chemicals are.”
“Mr. Harris,” Ashlee said a few minutes later, her voice tentative and shy in a way she never actually was. “I've been having trouble lately with the class work, would it be alright if I joined Tony and Pete for today's lesson? I think Tony -”
“Yeah, that's fine,” Harris answered absently without even looking up and Ashlee smirked at her friends before she walked to the back of the classroom.
Pete glared at her before he turned puppy dog eyes on Tony who rolled his eyes and muttered, “You owe me, Wentz,” as he switched chairs with Pete, putting him at the end and taking the middle seat. He didn't bother looking up as Ashlee sat in the aisle seat and just started arranging the beakers and chemicals Bruce and Joe had dropped off at their tables.
“Tony, do you mind switching seats with me?” Ashlee asked him, her eyes fixed on Pete. “I need to talk to -”
“No,” Tony interrupted; he looked around the room and then lowered his his voice so it was only audible to their little group in the back. “I don't know why you think any of us want anything to do with you, let alone Pete -who you actually tried to kill, in case you forgot. I'm pretty sure he doesn't want to talk to you.”
“That was a misunderstanding,” Ashlee hissed, ignoring the angry noise Patrick let out. “Pete's perfectly capable of talking for himself, if he doesn't want -”
“I don't want to talk to you,” Pete told her coldly, his foot stretched across the small aisle so it was pressed against Patrick's sneaker. “Now can you please shut the fuck up?”
“Twenty minutes left,” Harris announced in a bored tone. “I want those results on my desk before you walk out the door. Maybe those of you in the back could try doing something besides talking and do some work.”
“Fuck,” Pete cursed and looked over Tony's sheet where he was rapidly filling in the questions. “Dude, what the hell does that mean? I can't -”
“Just copy it,” Tony told him; he nudged his shoulder against Pete's reassuringly. “I'll explain it later on, after practice. Dinner at my place?”
He pushed it over so it was easier to copy; Pete nodded absently and bit his lip as he hurriedly scrawled the answers across his own worksheet.
Tony glanced over and saw both Patrick and Pepper scribbling away at their sheets and a quick look to the side told him Joe and Mikey were both copying Bruce's answers. He wasn't really surprised when Pete dragged his chair next to Patrick and hunched over him, letting them check their answers against his.
Instead of shrugging Pete off like he would normally do while they were at school, Patrick let him cuddle -either to make a point to Ashlee or because he knows Pete hates talking to her, Tony thought, smirking a little. Maybe both.
The bell went off and in the pandemonium of everyone getting their stuff together and rushing out the door, Tony watched Ashlee narrow her eyes at the way Pete gave Patrick a quick kiss and chuckled when Patrick blushed, the way she glared at Patrick when they walked past her. Patrick raised an eyebrow and, in a move that made Tony grin, he pointedly stared at her until she turned around and left the room after getting her books.
“She really hates you, Patrick,” Joe noted as they got ready to split off; Pete and Joe to math, Mikey and Tony to shop, while Patrick, Pepper and Bruce were on the other side of the building for their afternoon AP classes.
“So what?” Patrick shrugged. “Ashlee's always hated me, now she just feels justified about it.”
“Be careful,” Pete told him with a small frown as he headed the opposite way with part of the pack. “Not just of Ashlee, something seems weird to me.”
“We'll be fine,” Patrick called over his shoulder in a reassuring tone.
“We've all got our pepper spray on us,” Pepper added and patted the front part of her messenger bag. “As well as the mountain ash.”
“Love you,” Pete yelled as he disappeared around the corner.
Patrick rolled his eyes and tried to hide his smile. Judging from the matching smirks on his packmates faces, he failed.
*
“I texted Andy to tell him we were going to Tony's after practice,” Pete announced as they gathered around Patrick's Jeep and Tony's Firebird after the last bell to toss their bags and books inside the cars. “He's gonna meet us there.”
“Patrick, can I see the book you had earlier?” Pepper asked as she switched her school bag for her other messenger bag; along with the standard pepper spray and mountain ash, it had a few hidden pockets where Pepper had two of her favorite knives, some more mountain ash (you could never have enough), a couple vials of holy water (vampires -don't ask), Wolfsbane (hostile werewolves) and lead nails (faeries -really don't ask).
She also had the pack's laptop with her today as well as a spare notebook and pens; Pepper believed in being prepared for everything.
“Yeah,” Patrick said; he rummaged through the pile of stuff on the passenger seat and dug it out for her. “Make sure to check the entry on selkies, it definitely has potential; here, I made some notes,” he added as he handed his notebook over with the book.
“Hmmm,” Pepper said as she put both in her bag. “Alright, now I have something to do while I play devoted girlfriend at practice and sit in the bleachers.”
Before anyone could say anything else, a silver Mustang pulled into the parking lot and idled in front of the doors where a few students were still coming out.
“Who's that?” Bruce asked curiously as the driver's door opened and a tall blonde stepped out, her hair pulled back into a ponytail and she had on jeans and a tank top.
“I don't know,” Joe answered with a frown; he inhaled a little, trying to catch her scent.
“She seems familiar,” Pete added, his brow furrowed thoughtfully. “Like I should recognize her.”
“Aunt Jess!” a familiar voice squealed a second before Ashlee dashed from the front doors to the woman by the car and gave her a hug. “I didn't know you were coming for a visit!”
“Oh, your father needs my help with something,” Jessica drawled, a secret smile on her face. She glanced around the parking lot; when her eyes landed on them, the smile sharpened dangerously. “It should be a lot of fun.”
They watched Ashlee climb into the car and then they stared at each other as it drove away.
“That's Jessica Simpson?” Mikey asked, a note of shock in his voice.
Jessica Simpson, who's hatred for werewolves was as well known as the Simpson name among Hunters. Jessica Simpson, who had been known to ignore even the thin rules that governed how Hunters dealt with werewolves.
The same Jessica Simpson who, when she was twenty-five, moved to Beacon Hills and took a job coaching the swim team at the high school. And then seduced Andy, who was only fifteen at the time, made him think she was in love with him and then learned everything she could about his family.
And then when Andy was getting picked up from swim practice by his older sister, she burned the house down and killed the eleven adults and children that were inside.
“Fuck,” Patrick said, his voice equal parts anger and uncertainty.
“Yeah, that about sums it up,” Tony agreed.
Pete was already pulling his phone out to call Andy. “Andy, there's a...problem. Meet us at Tony's in a few minutes? Yeah, we're all going to skip lacrosse.”
This was definitely not good.
Part 2