Werewolves Don't Cry (BoyxBoy) [On Hold]

16| Rose

Beyond the grand sunken living room, Jesse faced the empty fireplace. A glint of curiosity flickered in his eyes when they fell upon a photo frame on the brick mantel. He approached it then grabbed it closer, trailing the tip of his fingers on the glass, gazing at the people in it with awe.

It was a family photo—the Montero family's photo.

In the picture, two adults were hugging each other sideways with big smiles; Carlos, the head of the family, and Loura, his wife in an elegant red dress. Standing in front of them was fifteen-year-old Gray, his gentle eyes looking smaller from a shy smile on his blushing face. Planting a kiss on his cheek was twenty-year-old Brad with a less muscular body, wearing a tank top that showed the wing tattoo on his shoulder.

Jesse's eyes grew wide and a faint 'wow' escaped his lips when he found the fifth member of the family—a girl who was probably in her mid-twenties.

Jesse stared at the girl who was sitting confidently on the couch, spreading her arms out with a smirk. He stared at her magnificent blue eyes, bluer than his, which seemed scientifically impossible. They spoke of innocent beauty. They allured. They hypnotized. They pulled Jesse in until his nose almost touched the frame.

Jesse pulled away to examine the girl's other unique features; especially that rose-shaped white skin pigmentation on the upper part of her forehead. A large gap separated those almond-shaped eyes. From her black hair, a white strand of hair hung solely at the front of her head near the white patch of skin.

Jesse was amazed by her courage. She revealed all her unique features in that photo and didn't make any effort to hide them. People would stare—just as he did—or do something worse to someone as different as her, but she didn't care. She was brave and fierce like that.

After he satisfied his curiosity, Jesse placed the photo frame back on top of the fireplace. With Gray's phone in his hand, he returned to the bedroom. He didn't bother to knock this time.

As he walked in, Jesse found Gray laying down on his side, one arm under the pillow. The light coming from the sheer curtains reflected on his golden skin. A droplet of sweat trickled down his chest.

Jesse shook his head, smiling. He placed the phone on the nightstand and leaned closer to examine Gray's sleeping face. He chuckled when he saw him drooling on the pillow.

"Again?" Jesse crawled under the sheets and lay next to Gray. "I thought you were feeling better."

"I'm not sleeping," Gray slurred. "I'm just resting my eyes."

"Sure." Jesse scoffed. "By the way, I saw Rose's picture. The one in the living room."

Gray's eyes opened.

"I was wondering." Jesse turned toward him, trying to please his curiosity with some answers. "Have you heard anything from her lately?"

"Nope." Gray wiped his mouth. "We haven't heard from her in over a year." He stretched his arms, groaning. "Since she decided to live with that Native American tribe in Utah."

"What?" Jesse mocked with a laugh. "That's ridiculous. Don't they have phones in that town?"

"It's not just any town." Gray lowered his gaze and sighed. "They have a special training program, to live in harmony with nature. Uncle Scott's there too."

"Oh. I'm sure she's fine then." Jesse felt Gray's frustration in his voice so he tried to bring a happier memory of Rose. "You know, it's the first time I've seen a picture of her with her natural hair color and no make-up. She looks great."

"Watch it." Gray glared with a hint of a smile. "She's my sister."

"Dude." Jesse laughed and blushed away. "You know what I mean."

Gray smiled showing a perfect set of white teeth. Although weak and tired, Gray felt less tired around Jesse. His company alone eased the soreness of his muscles, kept him relaxed, and took his mind away from the pain.

"Yeah," Gray started. "She learned to accept her Waardenburg syndrome and not hide it with tons of makeup and hair dyes anymore." Gray pressed his lips together. "She's amazing."

Gray missed his big sister, and Jesse could tell by the glint in his silvery eyes.

"Yeah, she is."

As Gray closed his eyes to get more rest, Jesse turned away, facing upward, and stayed silent after that. He fiddled with his fingers, a habit he used to do whenever he felt uncomfortable or nervous. The stress he was exposed to these past few days lingered and made him peel off the extra skin around his nails until they bled.

The smell of blood attracted Gray. He opened his eyes and saw the void gaze in those blue eyes staring at nothing above.

The blood around Jesse's nails stained the tip of his fingers as he continued fiddling. He didn't stop. He didn't even notice it.

Gray felt Jesse's anxiety. He felt it in his fast-beating heart, his trembling hands, and the trance he was in right now. Gray was sad about how damaging this experience was to his friend, but his sadness soon turned into anger when his eyes locked on that scratch on Jesse's cheek.

"Gray," Jesse suddenly spoke then paused for a second. "Is it OK if we stayed here for a little longer?"

Gray was still staring at that bandaid that was covering Jesse's wound. It made his blood boil, but he had to stop himself from getting angrier during his moontouched phase; it's too dangerous.

"Jesse." Gray sat up with difficulty. "You need to tell me what's going on."

Jesse was terrified, but as soon as he met Gray's gentle eyes, a sense of safety washed over him. He felt like he could tell him anything in the world.

"OK." Jesse nodded. "I'll tell you everything."

Jesse lied.

He didn't tell Gray everything. He purposely missed the parts about the alley boys turning into werewolves. Instead, he told him they were wearing costumes with fangs and claws, and that T-Bone was one of them. He also didn't tell him about T-Bone nearly sexually assaulting him. He just mentioned that this guy might be trying to kill him because he witnessed the whole alley murder.

Still, with all the omitted information, Gray was left furious.

Who dared attack my beloved Jesse and his family?

Who dared lay his dirty finger on him?

They will pay.

I hope you liked Jesse and Gray's unique bond :D

Also, there was a mention of a famous character in this chapter. Did you spot it? ;)