Witchcraft

Blue Moon

"Hey, hey. Dav, what's going on?" I approached the hairy male, who had Ethan and Benny in a headlock.

He pushed both of them toward me with a grunt. "All right. Listen up, geeks. From now on, we're best buds, got it?" David questioned.

"Yeah, yeah. Yeah, we got it. Wait. What?" Ethan asked, confused.

"Yeah! Awesome. Best buds forever. Yeah, totally cool. Headlocks are like jock hugs," Benny explained.

"Awesome. See you around, Bro One and Bro Two! Bye, (Y/n)!" He punched Ethan and Benny's shoulders and winked at me before walking away.

"That... was awesome!" Benny exclaimed.

"Which part? The love tap, or the part where I could taste his deodorant?" Ethan questioned.

"I mean the part where we're friends with David Stachowski. Our street cred just went through the roof!" Benny said confidently.

"Why would a guy like him want to friend up with us?" Ethan questioned.

"Well, the only thing I could think of is that he thinks (Y/n) is hot," Benny mumbled. He then shook his head. "Ethan, don't look a gifted jock in the mouth. In fact, don't make eye contact at all," Benny advised. He looked at a girl walking past him. "Hey, wanna go out? I've got the David Stachowski seal of approval."

"Drop dead," the girl scoffed.

"See? She spoke to me. That never happened pre-headlock!" Benny stated.

"Um, I'm right here," I scoffed.

"There's something about that guy..." Ethan trailed off.

"You mean other than the fact that he's huge and popular and awesome?" Benny asked. He pulled out something from his hair. "Is... is that a flea? Tell me I don't have fleas."

"That's a flea," I confirmed.

~~~

"Come on," Ethan said, pushing on the vending machine glass.

Sarah punched the glass and all the snacks fell out of the vending machine. I looked at her curiously as I picked up a chocolate bar.

"Is that one of your fledgling powers?" Ethan asked.

"Not a power. Just a perk," Sarah explained. "So, where's your new jock BFF?" Sarah asked, sitting down with us on the lounging chairs.

"Something's weird," Ethan said. "It's like the lions had started hanging out with the zebras."

"Who's got two thumbs, three free candy bars, and is best buds with Dave Stachowski?" Benny asked proudly. "That's right. This guy."

"I, uh, see what you mean." Sarah pointed at Benny.

"It gets worse. It's like he's inserted himself into my life," Ethan continued.

"So he eats all your food. Not enough to break up a good bromance." Sarah pinched his cheek teasingly.

He swatted it away. "There's more. The guy howls."

"Woo hoo! Free candy bar!" David howled.

"A lot of dudes howl. It's a... it's a jock animal thing," Benny reasoned.

"I can't be the only one who's noticed how hairy he is," Ethan added.

"So he's hairy. A lot of guys are hairy. It's a hairy guy thing," Benny reasoned.

"It's basic math: howling plus hair plus this town equals-"

"Awesome," Benny cut Ethan off.

"Werewolf," Ethan corrected him.

"Werewolf," Benny repeated.

"Ethan, not everything is supernatural. You're obsessed," I argued.

"Yeah. He's just hanging out with us 'cause he realized how cool we are," Benny added. "Watch. I'll prove it." Benny got up and approached some girls. He came back a few moments later with cheese dust in his hair and a puff up his nose.

"Dude's a werewolf," Benny sighed.

"Okay, we prove that David's a werewolf. Then we figure out what he wants," Ethan instructed.

"I've got better things to do than stalk back-shavers," Sarah got up from the couch.

"Like what?" Benny questioned in disbelief.

"Soccer tryouts." Sarah walked out the door.

"I think she was serious." Ethan looked at me questioningly.

"Oh, well, in that case, I'm sure it'll be fine," Benny said sarcastically.

I got up, walking over to him. "Hey, Dav?"

"Yeah?" he questioned, turning to me.

"Keep the dog stuff on the down-low. You're going to attract attention. To both of us," I whispered.

"Sorry, (Y/n). The full moon's in a few days." David pouted.

"I know, don't remind me," I sighed, walking away from him.

~~~

"(Y/n), are you okay?" Benny asked worriedly when I walked up to them. "No offense, but did you not get enough sleep?"

"No. I stayed up all night reading, and then I had homework, and..." I trailed off, yawning.

"Do you need me to do anything?" Benny asked.

"Nothing, nothing," I assured him, pulling back my hair.

He sighed, grabbing the hair tie from my wrist and turning me around. He bunched my hair up into a ponytail, making sure the black tie was tight enough.

"I've never really done that before except with Jane's dolls, so sorry if it's messy-"

"No, Benny, it's perfect," I assured him, kissing his cheek with a smile. "Thank you."

He blushed bright red as I walked away.

~~~

"Hey, where were you last night? You missed Ethan wolfing-out!" Benny said, running up to me on the sidewalk.

"Homework," I said nervously.

Benny eyed me. "What are you hiding?"

"Nothing, Benny," I insisted. "But did you find a way to cure him?"

"Yep. Sarah poured some miracle potion down his throat," Benny explained.

"Good." I smiled. "Hey, sorry about the kiss on the cheek earlier-"

"No, it's okay. I kinda liked it." Benny smiled, tentatively reaching out his hand to mine.

I took it and intertwined our fingers together. Both of our blushes grew brighter as I realized my crush on him would never end.