Christmas Bonus - Part 2

He was sure that he had made the right decision, but as he looked out of the bus window at his surroundings, he was overcome with a sad feeling. Not that he had much in Manville that he was leaving behind, but the feeling of the unknown terrified him.

Ryan's whole life had been in a rut, with three points of reference - soccer, school, and his pack.

When he was a child, his life contained much more creativity, but negative experiences quickly taught him that it was easier not to stand out from the crowd, so Ryan did everything his peers did. His sweet nature made it easy for him to make friends, but none of them were close enough to make him feel bad about leaving them for a year. Most of them werewolves, so they understood his desire for a mate anyway.

Lina and Emma had walked him to the bus to say goodbye, and Tommy had come to see him the day before and helped him pack, but that was all. His teammates were disappointed to lose a player, but Ryan didn't get on with all of them, because those who wanted scholarships and a football career found it hard to understand that the dark-haired boy didn't want the same.

That left Samuel, Scar, and Roman, his classmates, with whom he occasionally met outside school, but only rarely. They couldn't go to his house because he lived in the middle of the pack, and so they never developed a relationship close enough for him to prefer the term friends to classmates.

Truth be told, his best friend was always his cousin Michael.

The thought of his favourite person involuntarily brought a smile to his face and soothed his nerves to the point where he could not only see black when he looked out of the window. His world was suddenly full of colour and Ryan found himself getting excited.

...

The first place his cousin showed him after helping him unpack in their room (Ryan was more than happy to find out they would be sharing a room as Michael was his comfort person, and he expected to have a couple of sleepless nights ahead of him as he got used to his new surroundings) was a dinner that Ryan vaguely remembered from his previous visits. Truth be told, he had visited North Hallson less than he would have liked in recent years, so he was glad to be able to spend a few months here. He hoped the change would be beneficial and decided to keep a positive attitude even though he was practically throwing himself into the unknown.

The moment he crossed the threshold of the Rock Pop Dinner, a familiar scent surrounded him, and his eyes quickly scanned the interior. He vaguely remembered spending New Year's Eve here with his parents, aunt, uncle, and Michael in the past, and even celebrating his tenth birthday here when a storm had forced them to stay longer than just for the weekend. It had been Ryan's best birthday yet and he didn't think anything could top it.

"Do you still drink decaf?" Michael asked him and he nodded. Although he doubted he'd be surprised by a vision any time soon, years of migraines had taught him not to underestimate the situation and that decaffeinated coffee was a safe choice.

"Grab a table, I'll be right over," his cousin instructed, and he made his way to one of the tables with silent approval. From this spot he could see the whole of the place and Ryan realised that he and Michael were the only wolves under 21 there at the moment, which wasn't surprising as it was a school day, and all the teenagers were at school.

Ryan had no idea why this discovery disappointed him. He hadn't expected to meet his mate on the first day he moved here. Although he was an optimist, he was not that naive and knew that he would have to make an effort to find them based on the few clues he had.

Maybe we'll meet here one day since they like coffee.

"Are you okay?" Michael asked as silence fell between them. Ryan was the more talkative of the two, as the other boy tended to keep to himself, and although he used to talk more in his cousin's company, he wasn't the one who was used to initiating conversations.

"I am," he replied automatically, nodding, but then realising he was in the company of the only person he wasn't afraid to say anything to, he added, "I'm just a little worried."

Michael nodded immediately that he understood. "It's hard to move in the middle of high school." Of course, he knew exactly what was bothering his cousin without having to say it out loud.

"I'm not afraid of having to meet new people, but... But it would be easier if you were there with me," he admitted honestly.

"If I had known that you would move here one day, I would have tried to stay at school a little longer." The small smile on his cousin's face and his playful yet caring tone once again did wonders for Ryan's nerves.

"You'd be bored to death there," Ryan commented in the same tone, shaking his head in amusement at the thought. Although he would be thrilled if his cousin went to the same school as him, he knew that he wouldn't be thrilled because it would mean that he would have to stay there a few years longer than he needed to. And Michael didn't like school in its original length. He always claimed that he didn't need good grades for his future line of work and that he needed skills rather than knowledge, but he still tried hard so that he could please his parents and show everyone that he was really smart, he just didn't have the right motivation.

"I'm always bored to death, so nothing would change." He shrugged and took a sip of his coffee. Although Michael's attitude might suggest that he was the type to drink black coffee without sugar, the opposite was true. His cousin loved sweet drinks, something he'd picked up from his mum, and when he wasn't drinking hot chocolate, he preferred coffee with hazelnut or caramel cream.

"Perhaps we should spend more time as wolves. Sounds less boring," he suggested, and the glint in those brown eyes, almost identical to his own, told him it was the right thing to say.

"Maybe we should visit Nowhere," Michael suggested, and the rest of the darkness that had been sitting on Ryan's mind completely melted away at the sound of the name of their favourite place they had made up as kids.

"But no flag," Ryan added with a chuckle.

"Oh God, the flag." Michael's tone suggested that he had forgotten this little incident and seeing him remember it made Ryan quickly replay the memory in his mind as well. The older of the cousins was 9 years old, while the younger was only 7 when they managed to find the dilapidated houses in the middle of the forest. They hadn't thought much about safety then, relying more on their curiosity when they decided to explore the ruins and make them their secret bunker. It wasn't until they brought the flag up here and found out the next day that it had been struck by lightning that they realised they needed to find out more about this place and make sure it was really safe.

Nowhere quickly became an integral part of their lives, and the two little boys always found a way to invent a new game that involved their favourite place so that they could spend as much time there as possible.

"So... have you shown it to anyone else?" Ryan asked curiously. He wouldn't blame Michael for letting someone else in on their secret, but on the other hand, he still saw it as something reserved just for the two of them. That place was reserved for the most important people in their lives, and as far as Ryan was concerned, nothing had really changed in his case. The only one who knew him like the back of his hand was Michael.

"No." Michael shook his head, and Ryan caught himself as he let out a deep breath. "It's our special place, no one has earned that privilege."

Ryan was about to ask if Michael had found someone special since they hadn't seen each other, but he quickly stopped himself. He knew Michael still hadn't found his mate and it was a sensitive subject for him, and he didn't want to upset him.

Luckily, Ryan and Michael had a special bond, so he knew exactly what to say to lighten his mood. "Us against the world."

"Us against the world," his cousin repeated after him, his eyes taking on a warm glow.

...

Aunt Olivia had always been the coolest aunt in the family, and it was showing now that Ryan didn't have to go to school for the rest of the week, giving him a few days to get used to life in his new pack before he had to face another new environment on Monday. This woman could arrange anything.

"The meeting has been moved. We're leaving an hour sooner," Michael informed him, plopping down on the next bed, which was an exact copy of the one Ryan was currently lying on. His aunt and uncle had decided to treat him as their own, so he had to have everything their real son had.

"Okay," Ryan replied simply and went back to the book he had brought from home. It reminded him of his mate and so it seemed right to take it with him so that he could talk to them about it one day.

"Do you want to go for a run before we go?" Michael asked him suddenly, snapping him out of his concentration. He turned his head in surprise, knowing that Michael had had a busy week at work, so he had assumed that he would spend more time resting, but apparently, the opposite was true.

"Sure," Ryan said as he sat up. Michael did the same, only slower, and Ryan gave him a quick look. "Are you sure you don't want to rest?"

"I'm sure running with my favourite cousin is better than resting," Michael grinned at him, calming his worries.

In the end, Michael was the one with more energy and Ryan could barely keep up with his wolf. Ryan knew of his secret desire to be the pack's protector, but he also knew that Michael's introverted nature was a hindrance. Sometimes it was incomprehensible for Ryan to see his cousin in the same way as the people around him, for he knew him differently. Just as Ryan was completely himself in his presence, the reverse was also true. And of course, Ryan loved Michael for who he was.

The other bumped into Ryan's powerful body in a playful gesture, and a second later the black wolf pulled him by his tail. Ryan tried to get back at him, but Michael picked up the pace again and the game quickly turned into a chase.

With the wind in their fur and nature all around them, they were both in their element, and before they knew it, it was time to return to their human form. And although they did it more than reluctantly, after this playful run they were both in a good mood and that's how they arrived at the meeting place. However, Michael's smile quickly faded as he was surrounded by people, and Ryan couldn't help but notice.

But before he could ask Michael if everything was all right, he disappeared. Ryan looked around in confusion, but only caught sight of his disappearing back. He decided to follow him slowly, since he didn't know anyone here anyway, and at the same time, he didn't feel good about leaving him alone.

"Maybe you need a new one. Have you met my cousin? Ryan?"

Ryan was confused when he heard his name, but as soon as he got around the people blocking his view, he realised what the situation was. He moved to stand next to his cousin before his eyes fell on the boy across from him. And the first thing he noticed were the brown eyes that were wide as if he was about to panic, and Ryan felt he had to do something to fix it.

"Hey," he greeted him with a small smile. And just as he had hoped, the boy's gaze changed, falling on his smile for a moment. He looked very good, which was something Ryan noticed, even though he shouldn't have, and he quickly pushed the thought out of his mind before it could go any further.

Fortunately, the boy didn't seem to notice the way Ryan looked at him and responded, "Hey."

The moment Ryan heard his voice, a warmth flooded his insides, which he put down to how friendly the boy in front of him sounded.

The boy had brown hair that looked as if he was running his fingers through it all the time, and it fell into his big brown eyes. His eyes also made his face an open book, as Ryan read in them that the boy in front of him was nice, even though he knew nothing about him.

There was something else on the boy's face that Ryan couldn't make out but didn't dare point out. Besides, there was still a bit of stress in his demeanour that worried him a little too much. Maybe it wasn't appropriate when they didn't even know each other, but Ryan felt like fixing whatever was bothering the boy in front of him.

"Are you alright?" he asked him automatically, and the boy clearly hesitated before answering.

"I'm fine, thanks." Ryan was about to ask him the same question again, but before he could embarrass himself, Michael interrupted their conversation. Ryan almost blushed as he realised, he had completely forgotten he was there too.

"You made him shut up. That's news." His tone was almost mocking, something Ryan had rarely heard from him before, so he gave him a confused look. Michael started a conversation with him as if they were friends, but now Ryan didn't get that impression.

There was clearly something special about this boy, and it was then that Ryan decided to find out exactly what it was. Besides, he needed friends in this town, didn't he?

"I'm sorry, I'm not sure if I remember your name."