I saw Lon Chaney Walkin' with the Queen |Liam|

[JAMES KENNEDY]

What the fuck was wrong with him?

Jamie had been unable to sit still all day, and not even in the fun kind of way after a Monster where he had lots of energy and was in a fantastic mood because of it. No, this was uncomfortable, though it still had that energy to it, and it had started up the night before. He'd laid awake in bed for almost an hour just shifting around trying to get comfortable and staring at the walls and ceiling, and he was the kind of person who tended to crash out in no time flat. He might roll over once to get comfortable, but that was the extent. Lately, this was happening more often, every few weeks, but he didn't understand why or what to do about it. Last time, he'd gone for a walk during the day just so that he could use up some of it, but he'd just found himself distracted by every random sound and smell around him, which made no sense and was really difficult to deal with in a city like this. He didn't like it.

This time, he'd gone a little further and actually gone for a run, which was waaaay out of character for him. He wasn't a fat, lazy bum, but he sure as hell didn't go out of his way to exercise outside of work and walking around the city. Going out just to run was absolutely unheard of for him, but he'd done it because he had to do something. That had been in the morning, since he'd woken up and hadn't been able to get back to sleep, and it had worked for a little while. He'd felt better and hadn't even felt tired, which was even less expected, all things considered. Running around Central Park, he'd felt like he could have gone forever and had only turned around because he figured Liam would start to worry if he was gone for too long. He'd gone about the rest of his day after that, which included shifting around in his seat during class and being entirely unable to focus on anything going on (he'd be borrowing notes from someone for every class he'd attended that day), and by the time he got home, he was strongly considering another run.

Seriously, something had to be wrong, but he couldn't figure it out. He wasn't on something and it would have had to be a really strong hit if it was lasting this long, anyway, but something was weird. There had to be a reason for it, and it was most frustrating and a little scary that he didn't have the slightest clue what it was. That was becoming a running theme in his life anymore, and he wasn't okay with it. Pretty soon, Liam was going to really start picking up on it and probably things that Jamie himself hadn't even noticed, and if Liam had a problem with it, Jamie really wanted to have some answers and reassurances for him. That he didn't have those answers was upsetting.

It was especially upsetting right at that moment, with Jamie sitting on the couch watching tv with his notebook and a textbook spread out on the coffee table. 'Watching' was actually a bit of a stretch, since he was basically staring at the screen without really taking in what was going on, his knee bouncing a little and the eraser of his pencil tapping against the notebook. He hadn't written a single word in about fifteen minutes, though he'd stop staring at the tv and then mess with the books like changing the way he had them set up might help his concentration, he'd doodle a little in the margins to get his brain and pencil working, and then he'd zone out again. He could hear Liam moving around the apartment even with the music his friend had playing, and the couch he was sitting on smelled like someone's cologne, which was driving him a little batshit. He didn't know exactly why, but he was guessing it was Huntsley's, because Liam had never worn anything that smelled like that. It was the same thing Liam had smelled of at the end of date night, when he'd had his hands wrapped around Jamie's throat. It wasn't a smell that Jamie associated with anything good.

He was going to have to buy Febreze on his next trip to the store. Because he wasn't doing anything better with his pencil at that moment, he stopped tapping it for a moment to write 'Buy Febreze for couch-stank' at the top of his page as a reminder, stared at it a moment with a frown, and then went back to fidgeting with a change in the way he was sitting, an annoyed sigh and then some more tapping of the pencil. This was stupid.

"I'm going for a walk," he called out to Liam, who he could tell wasn't far because of how loud he could hear him, and because Liam must have overdone it on the cologne himself that morning. Except, that wasn't Liam's cologne, it was his soap. Whatever, Jamie didn't know why it was so strong, but it was, so Liam had to be pretty close by. "I'll be back later."

He needed air, something to get the smell of Huntsley out of his nose.

[LIAM HENDERSON]

Since the moment they woke up, Jamie had been acting a bit…funny. At first, Liam brushed it off as nothing too serious, maybe jitters. Maybe he had a test in one of his classes? Or maybe didn’t finish an assignment? But Liam had seen this before already—he had seen it in the prior month. Really taking notice of it when his best friend disappeared for the whole night then came back crashed on the couch looking like he had been rolling around in dirt. And in the month prior to that. Jamie had seemed jittery when they passed each other in the halls, and met up for lunch, and then even after school he was still acting strange. Something…wasn’t right. And after the conversation that he had read in the chatroom, Liam was wondering if Jamie was on something. Could someone be addicted to weed? Could they get withdrawals?

Currently, Liam was in the kitchen straightening up and doing the dishes after dinner. He couldn’t entirely focus, because he kept looking up at every single one of Jamie’s twitches, and fidgets. He watched with increasing worry as his friend would write, then space out at the TV, then write, then fidget, then space out again. The night before, Huntsley had come over under the influence and stayed the night. Jamie had, of course, taken off again; and Liam wanted to follow. But at the same time, Huntsley was his friend, and he couldn’t leave the drunk man alone in the apartment. So he had watched Jamie leave, with the decision that next time the man took off—he was going to follow him.

Liam gritted his teeth, watching as his friend continued to twitch. Part of him was worried that maybe the jitters were brought on by the blackout that he himself had had where he attacked Jamie. His friend was sticking to the story that he had injured himself, which explained the bleeding and bruises, but that didn’t make sense either. And the fact that Jamie’s bruises were healing at a rapid pace made him worry even more. Was there a drug that accelerated healing? Was that possible? Liam had done a google search about it, but nothing had turned up, so he was left to his own thoughts and suspicions. He was so far in his own thoughts, that when Jamie spoke up he jumped a little bit. “Yeah…sure.” He said quietly, distantly.

Liam continued to wash the plate, watching through his hair for when Jamie left. Only when he heard the door close did he put the dish he was washing on the rack, dried his hands and slid his feet into his shoes. He plucked his famous red hoodie off the couch—before thinking better of it. Full speed, Liam ran to Jamie’s room and grabbed a black hoodie from his closet, pulling it on as he rushed for the door. He loved his hoodie—but if he was going to sneak after his friend, the bright color would give him away far too easily. Liam pulled up the hood as he hurried out the door, glancing to the left, then to the right—just in time to see Jamie round the corner.

He didn’t want to run, and alert the other man to his presence, so instead he walked. But he walked quickly, following at a far enough distance from Jamie that he was hoping he wouldn’t be heard, but close enough that Liam couldn’t lose sight of him. Something was up, and Liam was going to get to the fucking bottom of it.

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[JAMES KENNEDY]

To be honest, it would have taken a hell of an effort out of Liam to get Jamie to stay in the apartment right about then, and it wasn't even because he was upset about anything. He just couldn't stand the idea of being there, being locked up in the house and sitting around. He had to go, had to move, needed the fresh air and the open sky. He didn't know why, because he'd never had cabin fever this badly before, but it didn't negate the fact that it was how he felt. He needed to get out, so when Liam agreed, he was out the door.

It was actually pretty sad on his part, considering the fact that his senses were all on hyperdrive, that he didn't realize that Liam followed him. The fact of the matter was that Liam was downwind of him, he had Jamie's own scent wrapped around him in the form of that black hoodie, and there were still enough people on the sidewalks that Liam's footfalls weren't standing out as anything unusual to him. There were other smells assaulting his nose right about then, city smells like people, food and cars, and just as many sounds to keep his attention. It was actually bothering him, because he didn't understand why his nose and ears were so sensitive anymore, but he'd looked into it and the only thing he'd found was that pregnant women could smell pickles from a mile away. That wasn't helpful because he was pretty damn sure he wasn't pregnant.

It didn't help that he'd been a bit of a wreck for the past few days. His bruises and the cuts all over his feet were healing surprisingly quickly, but the internal wounds were as slow as they'd ever been. It had been just three days, but his bruises looked like it had already been a week or more, and though his feet still hurt with every fucking step (running that morning had been very painful for his feet, however good it had been for the rest of him), the pain was noticeably less each day. He'd never had anything heal this quickly before, and though he had no intention of thinking too hard on something that was obviously benefiting him so much, it was weird. He had enough on his mind without getting into that, anyway. Liam, despite having obviously done it all, really didn't seem to remember a single bit of it, and when the foundation that Amy had taught him to perfect for covering up the bruising on his throat started to rub away or he got a shower and didn't reapply it, his friend seemed upset by the sight of them. Jamie almost didn't mind letting Liam see what he'd done because it had hurt and scared the living hell out of him and if Liam couldn't look at it, he shouldn't have done it, but Jamie still tried to spare him. He didn't know how Liam couldn't remember what he'd done, but it was only about 20% of him that was angry and resentful of his attacker. The other 80% was a mixture of flinches and the instinctual fear of a dog who'd been badly kicked, depression over having pissed Liam off to the point that his friend had seen fit to attack him like that, and a refusal to believe that Liam was in his right mind at the time.

Of the things that Jamie excelled at, putting his faith in someone that he loved and who had hurt him was definitely on the list. He'd defended Liam very passionately when he'd talked to Amy the day after, and he wanted to believe that 100%, but there was still that part of him that didn't understand how Liam's story could really be true that was telling him to suck it up and accept the fact that Liam came from an abusive household and some people like that turned into abusers themselves. Others were victims. Jamie had told himself a thousand times that he would never be a victim again, but as he walked down the sidewalk lost in his own thoughts, it was clear to him that he'd been lying to himself. He would be a victim because he loved Liam and he wouldn't abandon his friend for it. It was a depressing thought, knowing that he was doomed to make the same mistake that his mother had apparently made, but it wasn't like he didn't take after her in other ways. He'd been pretty quick to walk out of the house last night when Huntsley was there, drunk, and hadn't she done that plenty of times? He was a fuck-up, plain and simple, so maybe his mother had been, too. Maybe they'd both earned their treatment. He wondered if his father had been anything like Liam before his mother had arrived on the scene and prompted that reaction. Like baking soda and vinegar.

Between all that, remembering the way Liam had reacted to him and what had nearly happened, and being distracted away from his own thoughts by sounds around him and smells that hit him suddenly, Jamie was completely lost to where he was going and what exactly he was doing. He didn't entirely even notice when his thoughts began to get more of that white noise quality where he couldn't really concentrate, and he definitely didn't think anything of the way his feet took him down a quieter little street that was mostly used for deliveries to the restaurants that faced the next street over, or his sudden, unconscious need to start pulling his clothes off. His eyes had bled amber and didn't even seem focused on where he was going, but he'd pulled his jacket off and dropped it to the ground behind him, kicked off his shoes in a few quick movements that hardly broke his stride, then his shirt. By that time, he had a bit of a trail of clothing behind him, he was shaking and his breathing had picked up a little, and his fingers found themselves fumbling with the button on the front of his jeans.

It was almost time.

[LIAM HENDERSON]

Liam all but wanted to scream for Jamie. His friend was moving rather fast, and Liam didn’t want to get separated. Luckily, he kept in a relatively straight line, however the buildings seemed to start changing, and Jamie was headed to a different part of town. One Liam wasn’t entirely comfortable with, and the last thing he wanted to do was get lost here. He watched Jamie dip down a side street, and he held his breath as he followed down that as well.

He glanced over his shoulder, to make sure no one was following him either. How awkward would that be? Liam had been so focused on following Jamie, he tripped and had to hop on one foot to keep from face-planting straight into the side of a garbage can. When he lifted his foot, he saw Jamie’s jacket dangling off his shoe. He picked it up, and raised it up with a frown. Jamie wouldn’t…what the hell. As Liam went, he noticed that Jamie was leaving a breadcrumb trail, so to speak. He grabbed the shoes as well and gathered them in his arms, looking up just enough to see Jamie pull his shirt off and abandon that on the ground as well.

The shorter boy almost dropped the items in his arms, and stared slack-jawed as Jamie’s pale boy-bod pretty much glinted in the moonlight. What the fuck was Jamie doing? There was no swim puddle anywhere near here, and it was chilly—not to mention that Jamie could defy gravity when it came to puddles and anything larger. So what in the—he ducked behind one of the trash bins when Jamie slowed down and peeked around the edge. He furrowed his brows, and peeked around it, hugging the jacket and shoes closer to his chest. What was---no way. Jamie was about to lose his pants. What the fucking fuck? His friend was a streaker?! This is what this was all about?! He wanted to shine his own pale moon all over this weird part of New York?! Oh dear God.

Liam hurried out from behind the trash can, and stumbled after Jamie again, scooping up the shirt. He couldn’t let his friend do this, oh god. This had to be illegal, this was illegal, wasn’t it? What if they caught Jamie’s pork-sword on camera? Or worse? His face! “Jamie—Jamie, you don’t have to do this.” Liam choked out, rushing as his friend and grabbing his arm to try and hold him still. He stepped around him, trying to get in front of his friend to block him off from running off. It was then that one of the backdoors to a café opened for someone to take out the trash. “Shit—dude.” Liam didn’t manage a glimpse at Jamie, but he used the grip on Jamie’s arm to pull him out of the view into a small niche in the wall. In his other arm, he still grasped the bundle of clothes and stared up at his friend.

“You’re going to get in serious trouble if your nipples don’t get frost-bite first.” Liam finally did let go of Jamie’s arm to dig under the jacket and shoes to grab the shirt, trying to shake it loose. “This isn’t right, I mean…we should talk this over, and if this is a serious problem you have, we can get you help. I just…You could go to jail for streaking.” Liam was panicking, and having a hard time to look up at the half-naked man ahead of him. Jesus Christ, since when was Jamie built like that anyway? Was it this new body that he was trying to show off, because if that was the case, maybe they could just go for a walk in the park. Jamie could go shirtless there; he didn’t have to run naked across the city.

[JAMES KENNEDY]

Jamie wasn't really 'home' at that point, the wolf taking point and making sure that he didn't destroy his clothes in the shift or get all caught up in them, and it would have all been fine if Liam hadn't interfered. Jamie would have remained ignorant of the situation and what it felt like to shift and to be a wolf, Liam could have continued to believe that nothing strange was going on with Jamie, and the wolf would have kept enjoying his midnight runs. Except, that wasn't how it was going to go. He'd just gotten his jeans unzippered when Liam came out of the darkness and revealed himself to be the cause of the sounds that Jamie had been ignoring when he grabbed the shifting man's arm, telling him he didn't have to do this and then dragging him off to the side as someone came out of one of the buildings. Bad idea.

Poor Jamie was shocked back into place by Liam's sudden appearance, speaking and grabbing him, and he didn't know what the fuck was going on, but he was cold, shaking and in a few different kinds of pain. The first was caused by his feet, which were still bandaged up, but were no longer protected by shoes, while the second was almost like it was starting up in his bones, which didn't make any sense. Where was he? Why was he out here?

"Liam? Wha--" he started, only to have his question interrupted by a sudden, sharp spike of pain deep in his belly that drew a strangled, pained cry from him and went to show that he did have to do this and that even Liam couldn't stop the moonlight (GEDDIT?), though he'd ruined Jamie's buffer for the pain, which sucked hardcore. He'd tried to choke down the sounds he was making as his body seemed to violently reject pretty much everything about itself because of that guy that had come outside, but hopefully he'd gone on his way, because Jamie couldn't shut up any longer. The choked hisses and groans got louder quickly as bones twisted and muscles pulled themselves into different configurations, amber eyes locking on Liam and betraying his own terror and lack of understanding what was happening to him right before his teeth lengthened and he tore his gaze away to scream and jerk himself away from his best friend.

By the time his screaming changed pitch to something inhuman, something that resembled the shrill, agonized howl of a wolf, he was on the ground and was trying to force what remained of his human arms to push his jeans off as he shifted. He didn't know why, but he knew they had to go and that they were already starting to feel wrong. It was difficult because he was losing fingers and especially thumbs rather quickly, but he mostly managed to wriggle out of them on the dirty ground before it was too late. Believe it or not, it only actually took a few minutes before a huge gray wolf was crouched over a pair of jeans, breathing hard and flicking frightened amber eyes around like it didn't know what was going on or where it was. Completely disoriented by having Jamie so awake through the shift, the wolf was mostly just instincts at that point; there enough to be in Jamie's way and to hamper his ability to just be a human in a wolf's body, but not there enough to keep him happily oblivious as to most of this. There would be no mistaking this for a dream or forgetting completely later.

He tried to call out for Liam, but it came out as only a whining kind of bark, plaintive and scared, and it startled him enough that he flinched down against the ground, glancing around again. What the fuck was going on? How was this happening? He needed his Liam, but watching his best friend, that didn't look like a good idea. It didn't stop him from shakily getting up and making a slow approach, but the man's reaction did; Jamie shrunk back like he thought Liam might strike him, whining and considering taking off, but where would he go? The city felt scarier right then when he didn't know what was going on or how this had happened, so he kept his belly low to the ground as he inched forward, blinking his eyes shut with his ears plastered to his skull whenever Liam moved, just in case the man flipped out.

[LIAM HENDERSON]

Liam stared back at Jamie when he said his name, before gasping right when Jamie’s pained sounds started. What was happening? Had someone actually hurt Jamie, and Liam had been too careless to notice it? Liam felt something crawling under Jamie’s skin, it felt like something grotesque and obscene, but still—he held on. This was his best friend and something was wrong. Liam didn’t fully realize the changed bone structure, because he was held captive by those terrified amber eyes. Amber eyes. He released Jamie’s arm just at the same time he had jerked away, catching a glimpse of elongated teeth. Immediately, Liam’s skin broke out in a cold sweat and he stumbled backwards a step.

He watched with his own horrified eyes as Jamie collapsed to the ground, still screaming. But the screams where different now, more animalistic. Liam was watching before his very own eyes, a human man change into a wolf. And not just any human man—his favorite one, his Jamie. The clothes and shoes fell from his hands as he backed up, his back hitting the wall. The bricks hissed and snagged on his hoodie as he slid to the ground, his pale hands pressing over his mouth. It almost hurt, with the force he was pressing his hands to his mouth, but he was afraid that if he gave any give to his lips that a scream of utter terror would escape him.

He held very still with flared nostrils, shaking and trembling as he just stared at the wolf. He was in plain view unfortunately, but he also remembered how the pack of dogs had chased him right when he ran. Liam’s green eyes clenched shut tightly, hoping that when he opened his eyes, the wolf would be gone. Instead, there was a shrill, pathetic whining bark that caused Liam to jump. He jumped, and a scared sound came out of his own throat, almost the beginnings of a cry. He still had his hands over his mouth, and was now staring at the wolf with watery green eyes. Honestly? He’d take a streaking roommate over this any day. The wolf tried to come closer, and Liam’s shoes scraped across the cement ground as he pressed himself harder against the brick wall—his hands releasing his mouth to shove on the ground, almost attempting to push himself through the wall.

His heart was hammering in his chest, and he could feel his face going cold. He was as white as a sheet, and going into shock. He hadn’t realized he was beginning to hyperventilate, and instead tried to take deeper breaths. If only to prevent himself from passing out in front of a wolf that was…a little larger than usual. But then again, Liam had never seen a real wolf face to face, so maybe all wolves were like that. This wasn’t funny. If Jamie was playing a trick on him, there would be a very, very long silent treatment to look forward to. But Liam was pretty sure that Jamie wouldn’t do this. Then again—unspeakable things had happened several days ago. Maybe this was Jamie’s revenge? If that was the case, then he deserved it. He didn’t want to think Jamie would do this to him, especially if Jamie was pretending he hadn’t done anything.

He choked down another scream as the wolf inched closer. Liam was afraid of dogs, but he knew enough about them to notice the submissive gesture. The wolf wasn’t growling or snarling. The blinks, and the ears down, and the belly close to the ground was all kinds of scared .Liam attempted to stop trying to scramble away, and just stared at the wolf with round, frightened eyes. It couldn’t be—could it? He had just seen it with his own eyes, he had watched his friend change. He had felt the beginnings of it under his own fingertips. He rubbed his hand on the leg of his jeans, still feeling the crawling of muscles and bones changing under his hand. “J-Jamie?” He asked quietly, almost feeling stupid. Even worse though, he carefully extended a shaking hand towards the wolf, moving extremely slow, and put his palm up. “Jamie, is that you?” His voice was small, and scared.

Yeah. He’d take a streaker over this any day.

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[JAMES KENNEDY]

No, this was not a joke, and though Jamie would have been extremely disappointed in Liam's opinion of him that his friend had really thought he might be a streaker, the taller boy would have preferred it if that was the case, too. Being fond of taking your clothes off and running naked through the city was unpleasant to think about, but being...what was this, a werewolf? Yeah, that was much more awkward and upsetting, not to mention hard to believe. Jamie was not a fan, but then, he didn't really understand what was happening right about then. He didn't know what he was, not with a conscious realization like a human might have had, but he knew how to move and the instincts for behavior were there. If he had human reasoning in the way, he probably wouldn't have been able to accomplish the appropriate body language to assure Liam that he didn't mean any harm, nor would he have realized that he was a canine.

This was like Jamie broken down to more basic pieces, really. He'd flinched back when Liam made a sound and when he moved to push himself harder against the wall behind him, another whine leaving his throat, and if he'd been human he probably could have held off on the flinching and obvious fear. He'd failed in that department during the shift, but his body didn't hurt like it had then, and so he could be scared in a much less aggressive fashion. He didn't want Liam to be frightened on top of his own fear, because he could smell it through Liam's own scent and his own on the hoodie his friend was wearing. That Liam smelled of Jamie helped, because whether he knew it or not, that was something he noticed and took comfort in. Liam was his, he smelled like it, but Liam was scared and Jamie was even more scared because of it. If Liam was scared, that meant that Jamie had good reason to be.

Except, Liam was afraid of him. That made the situation even worse, because Jamie didn't know what was going on or what had just happened to him, so if Liam was afraid of him, it had to be bad. Why was Liam trying to get away from him? All Jamie wanted to do was make him feel better and take comfort in his Liam's closeness, but he hesitated with the newest scramble backwards, whining hard enough that there was a bark wound into the sound somewhere. This was extremely distressing, and he couldn't make himself any smaller against the ground than he already was.

Finally, after what was only really a few moments but felt like ages to a distraught wolf, Liam called him by his name and his ears perked up a little, then flicked back down as he remembered to stay as non-threatening as he could. Jamie. Jamie, he was Jamie, that was right. He was Jamie and this was his Liam, because 'friend' and 'best friend' didn't process correctly right then. Liam, this boy was his Liam, and he was asking if this was Jamie. Yes! Too bad his attempt at saying so came out as another bark, which probably made him the record-holder for most barks out of a wolf in a short period of time, and prompted him to flinch back again when Liam seemed a little startled. Even so, the boy reached his trembling hand out to the wolf, using his name, and Jamie's amber wolf eyes flicked from the hand to the face and then back again, considering. What was he supposed to do with it?

Well, it was being offered, and he wanted whatever Liam would give him, even if it was just a shaky attempt at acceptance. He was extremely slow about inching forward again, watching the hand and the face in case Liam changed his mind, but his Liam stayed put. When he was close enough, he sniffed at the fingertips, picking up the city smells from the dirt and the wall, his own smell from the hoodie, dishsoap and under it all, Liam himself. Without any conscious thought to it, he licked at the fingers, wanting his Liam to feel better, then nudged his muzzle against his hand.

This was incredibly frustrating when he couldn't just smile and tell Liam that it was alright.

[LIAM HENDERSON]

This wasn’t happening. This wasn’t happening. This was not, could not, and isn’t happening. Honestly he wasn’t sure what he had been expecting after calling Jamie’s name. Maybe laughter from around the corner—he had even torn his eyes away to glance around, only to jump when the wolf again barked. For just that second though—the wolf seemed happy. Like he was saying that he was, indeed Jamie. Only to flatten out again, and fix him with those large eyes.

No. Fucking. Way.

Liam wanted to draw his hand back, pull away and not have to let that nose touch him. He felt it close enough that he could feel the breath on his palm as the wolf sniffed him, and then licked his fingers. Oh gohooohoooood that was gross. Oh, sweet Jesus that was gross. But rather than wipe his hand on his jeans, the wolf pressed into his hands. This was crazy. Liam was in several different sorts just then. He could feel the shock starting to wear off, but it left him struggling to swim in a pool of confusion. This was surreal, he had to be dreaming right? But if he were dreaming, why could he feel the coarse fur of the wolf on his fingertips? And beneath that and the fear, Liam was able to acknowledge that this was actually pretty effing cool.

What Liam didn’t like about dogs is they seemed too testy. They could be your friend in a second, and then bite your hand off the next. You could see it in their eyes—they could be trained, but they lacked some sort of intelligence that was familiar in human eyes. This wolf though…this one had that flicker behind those amber eyes. Something that made him feel like Jamie was right there in front of him. Liam’s other hand reached out, and his fingers slid carefully over the sides of the wolf’s neck, cradling his massive head and staring him in the face. Liam was still trembling, and he drew his fingers back, still staring.

This was way, way too crazy. He scrambled again, laying out Jamie’s clothes on the floor, separated from each other, and he slowly looked back at the wolf. “If you’re Jamie—hand me the jacket.” This was not only crazy, but also insane. He was sitting in a dirty alley with a wolf who should not be here, playing guessing games. Liam glanced down at the clothes, then back at the wolf. If he couldn’t do it, then Liam was going to take his chances with running out of the area. Maybe someone from one of the restaurants would hear his terrified screaming while the wolf gnawed his legs down to tiny nubs.

Yeah. That could work.

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[JAMES KENNEDY]

Yes. Fucking. Way.

This was happening, even if Jamie wasn't entirely positive how or what was going on, even if he was just winging it and trying to just make it through whatever this was, and even if Liam didn't want to believe that it was anything more than a dream. The scent of fear was still there on Liam's skin, Jamie could taste it on his fingers when he'd licked at them and he could smell it harsh and unpleasant in his nostrils whenever he greedily drew in the scent of his Liam, but it seemed to be less. It was strange, because fear during the hunt only fueled the adrenaline, but this wasn't a hunt, and it wasn't the thrill that it could be. This was a pack member afraid and upset, and as strange as it was, this was the boss who was afraid. When Jamie's whole world had revolved around Liam for so long, he could hardly consider the other man to be anything less than that. It scared him for Liam to be scared, and the fact that the man was calming down a little helped matters.

That didn't mean that Jamie wasn't still ready to duck in case Liam got mad. There was no conscious thought to the skittish behavior, but the fact that Liam had hurt him just recently was playing into that. He loved his Liam and he wanted to be near him, but he didn't want to get hurt, not after how much shedding his skin had hurt. He was done hurting for awhile, if that was okay with Liam, so he stayed on his belly as still as he could while Liam's other hand touched his fur, both hands rubbing over his face to his neck. It said something about the way Jamie felt about Liam that he didn't move with the contact at his neck, considering how dangerous human hands could be and how deadly a throat shot had been, how Liam had only a few nights before nearly strangled the life out of him. He stayed still, just watching Liam's face and putting his faith in the human in front of him, and he very nearly panicked when Liam not only retreated some, but suddenly jumped into movement.

The great big wolf that could have taken down much larger prey than a Liam flinched back towards the ground at the movement, squeezing his eyes shut and then peeking when Liam obviously didn't do anything aggressive or violent. Then, what he was seeing became much more interesting to Jamie than continuing to be afraid at every look or movement. Maybe Liam was okay with this, maybe it was safe and they didn't have to be afraid? Liam didn't seem so scared anymore, even though he was still shaking as much as Jamie was. He'd set out Jamie's clothing on the ground, which prompted the wolf to sniff at the shirt and then lift his head to watch Liam as he spoke. Jamie, he was Jamie, and his Liam...what? Wanted to know that for sure? This was a test? His Liam wanted...the jacket.

Jamie stared at Liam for a moment, wheels spinning in his confused little doggy brain, then looked at the clothes spread across the ground. The jacket. This required more human-thought than wolf-thought, which made him realize as he examined the clothes spread out that it didn't all look right, but he did actually know what he was looking for. He sniffed through the pieces, not used to the lack of any real color in dealing with such human things as these, but he knew the smell. He loved that jacket, wore it all the time, and it had that wonderful and distinctive smell that all leather objects held but that he associated specifically with his jacket. Shirt, no. Jeans, no. Shoes...close, but nope and nope. He ignored the socks completely, sticking his nose into the darkest object there and breathing in deep the smell that he was looking for.

Jacket. This was the jacket that his Liam wanted, he'd found it! Yes, as silly as he might feel about it some other time, he was a little excited with himself for this, and he nudged the jacket towards his Liam, then barked once more. This was the jacket!

[LIAM HENDERSON]

Liam just watched back, and almost scooted away as Jamie watched him. Seemed to process what he was asking for, and like he understood—he began sniffing at the clothes on the ground. All Liam wanted to do was scream right then—but again, he had just laid out the clothes, so maybe it was just a coincidence that the wolf was taking his time in sniffing each one. He swallowed hard, choking that scream back down his throat, and stared wide-eyed as Jamie actually nudged the jacket towards him. Liam’s mouth opened a little, and he picked up the jacket, then looked down at it.

He didn’t feel that desire to scream anymore, but his legs did drop flat to the ground instead of up to his chest, and he stared at the leather in his lap. The wolf—Jamie—had correctly identified the correct article of clothing, and he was now holding it, staring at it in disbelief. This wolf was intelligent. This wasn’t a joke, it couldn’t be a joke. He had tried to give Jamie the credit of planning something like this—but Liam had to be honest. He was pretty sure that Jamie was a bit too lazy to really pull something like this off and keep it going. He rubbed the leather in his fingers, and pulled it close to him, hugging it tightly in his arms, staring back at the wolf.

He could see the slight sway of the bushy tail, and that smart flicker in his eyes. The leather groaned with Liam’s grip on it, and he frowned slightly, pulling the smell of Jamie around him. He could smell the slight sweat still on the leather, and beneath that—the smell of Jamie’s cologne. It was comforting, warm. When he opened his eyes and looked at the wolf, he was gripped by a sudden fear. He wanted his Jamie back, and on two legs. Smiling at him. Just erase this, and make it better. Would Jamie come back, or was he stuck on four legs? Liam reached out again, and carefully gripped the scruff of Jamie’s neck, and gave him a careful tug. Not pulling, not yanking, just trying to let the large, shaggy grey creature know that it was okay to move in.

The man was still terrified that the wolf would take a huge chunk out of him, but a voice in the back of his head kept telling him that it was okay. And that this was Jamie. And that if it was Jamie, nothing would hurt him. Liam leaned over slightly, leaning on the large wolf, still grasping the jacket tightly. He pressed his face into the fur of his best friend, but continued to grip the jacket. “You’ll come back, right? Like…this isn’t permanent, right?” He, again, didn’t expect Jamie to reply. He was mostly talking to himself; but he just felt so tired. He wanted to go ahead and just sleep, and wake up in the morning to realize this was a crazy dream. In fact, he had pushed himself into thinking that this indeed was just a really insane dream, and that this wasn’t happening. Which was also helping him be a lot calmer than he was actually feeling on the inside.

“We should go home.” He lifted his head from the fur that had strangely felt more like home than their own apartment felt, and started to gather Jamie’s clothes back in his arms. “This doesn’t look like a good part of town…so we should head out before we get into trouble.”

[/blockquote]

[JAMES KENNEDY]

Liam didn't seem quite so pleased with Jamie's ability to locate the jacket as Jamie had been, and that eased some of the excitement down to something that was once again cautious and a little skittish, watching as the man looked...shocked, really, and pulled the jacket in against his chest. Was he cold? Well, even Jamie-wolf knew that wasn't how his Liam was supposed to wear a jacket, but he was hardly in any position to point that out. Truly, Liam was giving Jamie more credit than he deserved by even considering that this might be a prank, because besides being far too lazy, Jamie didn't have these kind of resources and he was just not brilliant enough to pull something of this magnitude off as a joke. He was smart, but this would be outrageous to pull off right in front of someone as a joke.

So no, it wasn't an act or a joke, and it wasn't a dream, either. Dreams didn't hurt as badly as Jamie had hurt just a little while ago, but Liam didn't know that and so he would just have to figure it out for himself. It was unlikely that Liam really thought it was a dream, anyway; he might WANT to think that, but in the back of his mind, he knew the truth. That was why there was another spike of fear out of Liam that caused Jamie to look around like there might be some threat out there that he somehow hadn't noticed until Liam had reacted, but once again, it was him. Fortunately, Liam reached out to tug at the fur at his neck, gesturing him in closer, and if Liam could do that, it meant that he wasn't that scared, right? Had to, and if not, Jamie had fallen for it and he tucked his face into the crook of his Liam's elbow, trying to get in closer against the man than the jacket even was, and it felt nice when Liam leaned in against Jamie until his face was buried in the wolf's fur. It was comforting to have his Liam that close and to feel the warm breath against his fur and skin.

The questions were not comforting, partially because they were a little more complex than 'which is the jacket', but also because there was no way in hell that even if he could form a response, he could really get the point across. It only made it worse that he didn't actually know. He didn't have the human ability to analyze a situation and form a deep answer to a question, but he knew that this one bothered Liam and that it bothered him, so he nudged his muzzle further into the space he'd taken between the man's arm and body. He would have been just fine staying right where they were, but his ears pricked up and he withdrew a little when Liam said they should go home. Home? He was allowed?

Trouble wasn't a concern for Jamie right about then, and though he didn't know it, he'd absolutely been through this area of town a few times during full moons in the past, and though he'd had a few altercations with humans that weren't necessarily friendly, 'trouble' wasn't really a good word for it unless someone reported a huge fucking dog that got aggressive if you were mean to it. He wasn't arguing with Liam on the matter, though. He backed off a little and sat down to watch his human pick up the clothes that smelled of him, waiting patiently for Liam to lead the way. Home sounded nice, as long as his Liam was going there. If he didn't have to, he wasn't leaving Liam unattended. What if those dogs came back? Yeah, fuck that noise. Guard-Jamie was on duty, bitches.

[LIAM HENDERSON]

Liam loosened his grip on the jacket when Jamie moved in closer. It was weird, and he wanted to hug onto the wolf in the chill of the cool autumn air. Just sleep right there, nestled in the warmth of the exact thing that had been the source of so many terrified screams, moments, and dreams. All of that considered, the fact that he was slightly beginning to accept the fact that this was Jamie made it that much safer. If there were any other dogs or wolves in the area, Liam would be the first on the freak-the-fuck-out parade. He stopped for a moment, and looked at Jamie, and pulled the belt off the jeans he discarded, and balanced the clothes on his knees.

“I’m just going to put this around your neck. So you can pass off as a dog, just in case I get stopped for being followed by a giant wolf. I’ll take it off as soon as we get home.” Liam murmured, and reached out, carefully looping the belt around his furry neck. It was loose, tucked enough under the fur that at a glance it looked like a collar, rather than a belt, and he stood up to his feet. Only on his feet did he notice how actually big Jamie was. It was enough that he felt a little hesitant. Jamie’s head came up to his waist, and considering he was 5’4”—that was rather impressive. He pulled in a deep breath, and reached down to pet his head carefully. The more he touched him, the more he felt relaxed. That was a blessing, and a curse at the same time. Last thing he needed was to get relaxed around him, and have a bite taken out of his arm. Because that would suck.

He sighed and stared down at Jamie, having a hard time taking his eyes away from him, before starting down the alley to where he came from. “Do you remember how to get back home?” He asked quietly, hugging the clothes that much tighter as they dumped out onto the street. He couldn’t remember if he came in from the left or right.

Everything looked the same in the dark, and shadows didn’t look safe. Like a mugger was ready to come out from those dark shadows and cut Liam’s throat right open. Liam might not be much of a fighter, but being on a boys soccer team—you had to learn to be scrappy or you’d get cleats right in the face. But he was pretty sure he wasn’t up to dealing with a full on attack, and he didn’t want to risk Jamie being hurt. Liam took a wild guess, and started to the left with slow, hesitant steps. He kept glancing down to Jamie, to make sure he was following. And at the same time, praying that no one decided to question a small boy, and a large wolf. It was bad enough that as they passed restaurants some people stopped eating their food to stare at the strange duo.

Yeah.

Let them choke on their sixty-dollar filet mignon.

[/blockquote]

[JAMES KENNEDY]

The wolf that Liam was hanging onto was just as fine with staying right where they were as Liam seemed to be, thus the lack of movement on his part. Actually, other than trying to shove his big head in deeper against Liam's body, he was surprisingly keen to the fact that Liam needed to feel like he had the control in a situation with a huge canine. Jamie didn't have to consciously realize what he was to just know how to deal with Liam; he'd been focused entirely on his best friend for years. He whined softly when Liam backed off a little, but he sat down and just looked back as Liam regarded him and then started fumbling with his pile of clothes, sharp amber eyes taking in the removal of the belt from the pants without understanding instantly what the purpose of this was.

Oh.

Well, then. He stayed put as Liam explained what he was doing and why, and it made sense in that direct kind of reasoning that Jamie had going on right then. He wasn't able to put together intricate plans and probably couldn't have followed one entirely right then, but that was simple enough that he got it. They were playing pretend, because other humans would understand a collar and wouldn't be alarmed. That was fine, and he even tilted his head some to let Liam fasten the belt without struggling. When Liam backed off and stood up, letting the belt fall how it would around his neck, Jamie gave a shake to try to get used to it, but it didn't really do much. It made the belt fall pretty naturally for a collar, but it didn't make it feel any less weird for him. Even as a human, he hardly wore necklaces, so having something on his neck like that was strange, even if the belt wasn't tight. It was a good thing he trusted Liam, because that was the only thing that was keeping him from pawing at the thing to get it off.

That and the way Liam reached out to pet at his head. It didn't hurt Jamie's pride right about then to be treated somewhat like a dog by Liam because that involved much deeper thought processes than he was willing or able to manage at the moment, and he recognized that if Liam was touching him, he wasn't flipping out too terribly. It was a good sign, and Jamie liked that the touching also meant that Liam wasn't mad at or afraid of him. Since the last thing he was going to do was hurt Liam in the slightest, he didn't want the man to dislike him.

Remember how to get home? Jamie hadn't really been thinking too clearly when he'd left, but he could smell the path they'd taken and would have let Liam know if it wasn't the right way. Liam went left, and Jamie followed at an easy pace that kept him essentially at the boy's heels until they started to pass restaurants with people staring out at them. Believe it or not, Jamie didn't feel at all awkward about these eyes on him, but he didn't like not knowing if Liam was being stared at. It prompted him to speed up just a little to bump his nose and then face against Liam's side, wanting to make it ridiculously clear to anyone watching that this was his Liam and that he wouldn't allow any funny business. Liam definitely didn't have to worry about a mugger tonight, because anyone stupid enough to try anything with Jamie right there would never make that mistake again.

They actually weren't all that far from their apartment, and would have gotten there without any issue if not for the fact that the wind blew just the right way to blast Jamie's sensitive nose with park smells. If he'd been thinking clearer when he'd left the apartment, he'd have gone straight to the park, but now that he'd shifted, it was where he wanted to be. It was enough that he broke from Liam's side in a quick shot towards the road, though he hesitated on the sidewalk to look back at Liam, realizing that if he took off, he'd leave his Liam behind. Would Liam come with him? He wanted to go run and maybe even catch a bunny, or one of those dogs. Actually, he was a little hungry, so one of the dogs wasn't a bad idea. They were nasty bastards, anyway. He glanced back towards the park again, tilting his head to put his nose up into the breeze, sniffing at it and then looking back to Liam with a whine.

Did they have to go home?

[LIAM HENDERSON]

Liam clutched the clothes tighter when he noticed the eyes on he and Jamie before he felt the nudges of Jamie at his side. He looked down at him, and smiled as he scooted down the sidewalk. It was so weird trying to get his head around the fact that it was indeed Jamie at his side, and not a random dog. “This is weird, but…I’m glad it’s still you in there.” He wasn’t sure if Jamie could fully comprehend what he was saying, but it comforted him enough to know that Jamie was there, and not leaving his side. But he was finding that he missed Jamie and his smile, and the awkward way his hair fell around his face and into his eyes. He felt his throat tighten—Jamie better come back to himself. As happy as he was that he still had him, he wanted the comfort of his friend’s voice.

Liam came to a slow stop when Jamie started to leave his side and made his way towards Central Park. Liam was gripped with fear, and he quickly glanced around to check for cars. He unfortunately was aware of the fact that this was possibly not Jamie’s first time in this form, but he still felt overly protective. He wasn’t aware of his status as pack leader, but Jamie was his, and his to protect. And letting him get hit was just so not okay. Liam took a small step towards the park, and twisted his mouth slightly. He remembered those dogs, he also knew that sometimes police went on patrol around the area. The last thing he wanted to do is let Jamie get shot up. He wasn’t entirely too use to this thing, so he wasn’t sure how Jamie handled things on a regular basis, but he knew tonight that he wanted Jamie at his side.

He almost caved with that whine, and the way he looked at him. Even like this, Liam was having a hard time telling Jamie no. “Let’s head home, we can go to the park later. I just…” God, why was telling him no so freaking hard? “Let’s go home so I can get you something to eat and myself too.” He turned and started down the sidewalk again, glancing back at Jamie. “I’ll make you a steak…or, just give you one. Since you probably eat it raw, huh?” Liam glanced over his shoulder, and chewed on his lower lip. How does one actually entertain a wolf? Maybe there were some ribs in the fridge, he could pull off the meat and give him the bones. Maybe make a tuggy toy out of something? Liam shuddered—remembering the teeth. Maybe a tuggy-toy wasn’t a good idea. Maybe they could just eat, and curl up on the couch or something. Oh god—the idea of sleep made Liam wobble on his feet, and sway. Oh god, he was tired. Maybe this was too much, maybe he would wake up any second. “C’mon, let’s go home.”

[/color][/blockquote]

[JAMES KENNEDY]

The sad thing was that getting hit by a car wasn't completely impossible for Jamie, even with his intelligence level being much higher than your natural dog. He still had that problem where he'd catch a smell and just instinctively react, and though human understanding of the city and roads told one to stop and look both ways before crossing, animal instincts said to gogogo because only the strongest and fastest would survive and nature wouldn't wait around for you to catch up. Of course, if you were street pizza in the city, none of that mattered, so Jamie tried. He hadn't yet been hit and he'd stopped this time, but that didn't necessarily mean much. At least it might ease Liam's mind to think that he remembered to stop and check for cars each time. Right. Because that was definitely the truth.

Fortunately, Jamie wasn't one to dwell on the dangers of the city, and wouldn't be even when he returned to human form in the morning and actually had to face the fact that he was apparently a werewolf, of all things. Worrying about getting hit by a car or shot up by a scared cop really weren't things he'd stress, or even consider for more than a second. If he didn't think about them and take measures to keep himself safe as a human, then it wasn't happening, so that probably wasn't a good thing. Maybe Liam would pull through on that issue?

Without understanding why Liam didn't want to go to the park (why wouldn't someone want to go to the park was beyond him; open air, grass, animals, lots of space and things to smell, less people to stare and shy away, all that), Jamie pricked his ears up towards his boy as the alternative plan was explained, one that included a steak and 'home', which sounded pretty damn good. He glanced back towards the alluring smell of park with a low, wistful kind of sound before he trotted back over to Liam's side and leaned up to lick at bare fingers where he could reach to express his agreement. It wasn't like he could say that it was cool and he'd go. He nudged Liam's elbow a second later, urging him on and stepping just slightly forward so that he was by his boy's side while still far enough ahead that he could lead the way; he may not have been entirely himself, but he knew that Liam was hopeless with directions.

Since getting lost wasn't on the to-do list for the evening, Jamie worked on keeping his focus on getting them home and glancing sideways at his Liam pretty regularly just because. He wasn't used to having the company when he was on four legs, or to going home this early in the evening. He was a little sad that he wasn't going to get one of those bunnies, but a steak didn't have all that stupid fur getting in the way. Too bad the steak wouldn't run and entertain him for a few minutes before he killed it, or it'd be perfect. He'd take that trade for tonight, especially since it was his Liam who was making the offer; for Liam, there were a lot of things he'd do, whether he liked them, or not, starting with entering the apartment building.

Jamie hesitated just outside the door into the building, and not even because Liam had to open it, since he didn't immediately enter once Liam was holding the door. It reeked of people, and not all of them had a nice smell to them, it was closed in and what if he had to get out? He couldn't get this door open, he'd be trapped. It went against everything that instincts told him, but Liam wanted him to go, that much was clear from the way he was looking back at the hesitant wolf just outside the door. Jamie looked to Liam and then at the rest of the immediate area as he sniffed again. Nope, didn't like it, but what were his options? Stay outside and let Liam go in alone, or just follow Liam, and if there was any doubt what he was going to choose, something was wrong. It was with a resigned huff that he slunk his way through the door, watching the hallway like some crazy person was going to jump out at him at any moment.

Liam better appreciate the fact that Jamie loved him.