Hunter tossed his shirt off and grabbed a basket ball from a large bag that was laying against the wall. No one was in the gym, it was just him today. He bounced the ball up and down, eying the hoop and dashed off towards it, leaping in the air and slammed dunk the ball.

He almost broke the hoop right off the goal post and quickly let go and fell gracefully on the balls of his feet. Catching the basketball before it even hit the ground. He did a few rounds, bouncing the ball again and ran to the hoop, lightly extending his arms forward and shot the ball again.

He caught the ball, doing this over and over again. He ran a few laps around the half point before shooting the ball again. It would have been funner to have someone to play this with, but school was out and it was doubtful anyone would be at school. Hunter had a knack for sports, especially basketball. He was good at them, naturally and being a werewolf certainly helped. He never went out for a team though, he was to fearful that he would hurt someone or his secret would be exposed if he was to good.

The basketballs made a loud bang every time it hit the floor and slammed against the goal post before dropping through the hoop with each shot. He smiled at this and did it over and over again, not paying any attention if someone were to walk in and maybe noticed that he was good....maybe alittle to good.

School had long since been over and Sammy found himself wondering the empty, darkening corridors by himself. He hated that the evenings were growing darker and hated that the cold was already starting to nip at his nose as checked the doors to the classrooms were locked. Pulling his jacket hood over his shoulder length, messy hair, he turned the last few lights of before checking his keys and cigarettes were in his pocket. Knocking his headphones out as he did so, it was only then that he heard noises coming from the gym, the only room that had a door he didn’t need to lock.

Curiously, he took a few cautious steps closer and opened the door as quietly as he could, not wanting to scare whoever was on the other side of it. He hoped it wasn’t an intruder, he hadn’t yet been told what to do if he ever came across an intruder yet. When his eyes landed on a student however, his heart stopped racing and he let out the breath he had been holding in a loud whoosh.
Opening the rest of the door, he smiled as he made his way across to the boy he recognised from his classes. He was a boy that Sammy had come to learn had potential when it came to playing the guitar, a star pupil in his eyes that never caused any problems and showed great interest in everything he did. It seemed that guitar wasn’t the only thing he was good at though as he watched the boy expertly slam dunk the ball yet again. It was then that he decided to speak up, his eyes glancing around the huge hall and taking it all in as he hadn’t actually ventured to this part yet.

“You should think about making yourself a team… that’s quite a talent you have there.” He started, quickly intercepting the boy and taking the ball whilst he had the boy’s attention. He stood on the spot and bounced the ball twice before lining it up and shooting. A perfect hit. As soon as it bounced back, he walked over to the boy and held it out in one hand for him to take it again. “You nearly got locked in you know. You should really let someone know if you want to use the courts after school in the future… I don’t mind but some of the other teachers can get a bit funny...”

Hunter was oblivious to the fact that their was someone in the gym with him. People have told him before that he was quite a talented kid. He was not only good at music but sports to and that wasn't a everyday occurance for people to have oth talents rolled up into one person. He slammed dunked the ball again, letting the rim go and landed on his feet again. It wasn't until a voice caught his attention and he barely realized the ball was coming his way till the stranger intercepted.

He kept his eyes on the stranger, seeing the ball now in his possession. "I don't think that would be a good idea" He admitted softly.

He watched the stranger shot a goal and took the ball from the boy. He simply dribbled the basket ball before letting it bounce once and caught it under his arm. "I can just break myself out, picking locks are pretty easy." He said with a smile and in a flash was behind the boy and slammed dunk the ball again.

Sammy’s eyebrow rose at the boy’s quiet answer, watching as he dribbled the ball to the net and scored the perfect shot again. He wanted to question him, ask why he wanted to waste his talents though knew it best not to pry. The boy was unusually quite compared to everyone else in his class and Sammy had put it down to him being shy. As he had once been shy, he knew how much it bugged people to be questioned so much. Shrugging his shoulders indifferently, he turned to walk to basket, skipping occasionally over the lines as though kicking an imaginary ball. He did miss playing sports at his old school but when the time had come for him to choose between throwing a ball around and picking up his guitar, there was no questioning which one came first.

He chuckled lightly at the boy’s next answer, spinning around as the younger of the two ducked around him and scored another slam dunk. It was clear the boy wasn’t a ‘norm’, a ‘norm’ being what Sammy liked to call the humans in this new town. In fact, if his senses were correct, he’d say the boy was very much one like himself. It was strange as he’d only ever seen his own pack before and as he looked at the young boy with curiosity, he couldn’t help but to smile at how carefree he seemed to be.
“You should be careful Hunter; if you were to get caught you could land yourself in a whole lot of trouble. How about you just ask me for a key next time? It would be shame to see your talent go to waste.”

He grinned again as he knocked the ball from the boys hand and started to dribble it backwards, keeping his eyes on the boy as though daring him to take it whilst looking to make very little effort with keeping the ball from going out of line. “You sing as well as play the guitar right? Seems you’re a natural at a few things. You’re what I call the creative type, that meaning you have gift that can make the whole world smile if you came out of your shell and shared it with them. We should jam some time. If you want to of course.“

This guy talked like he knew him or something? He thought that he ha seen him around school.....yeah he was in a couple of his classes. Of course he never talked to the other, he always kept to himself. He cocked an eyebrow at what the boy said next about his talents going to waste? He didn't quite know what he mean by that and tried to just shake his head as if trying to get some thoughts out of his head.

The boy then stole the ball from him and he blinked his eyes at the other at the I dare you look. He just smiled then and bent down some. "Yeah guess I could but I am not looking to please the whole world.....I would rather hide my talents from people...." He admitted and charged to the boys right and stole the ball back from him and dribbled it.

"Do you know me.....you seem to know that I have some talent but I don't know your name." He said

Sammy grinned and rolled his eyes as the boy snatched the ball back with ease. As he straightened back up, he came to realise the boy was a lot more reserved than he had initially thought. Keeping the grin on his face, he headed to the fire exit doors where he stopped near the wall and turned to face him. It made sense that the boy didn’t recognise him yet; he had never informally introduced himself and had only been sat in the back of the class to pick up on techniques and tips from the teacher that was soon to be leaving.
“No… you don't know me. Not yet anyway. You can call me Sammy though... I’m going to be teaching here soon. Umm, I noticed how well you play and believe me; you’re a lot brighter than a lot of the clowns in the class.”

Taking a cigarette from his pack, he opened one of the doors a tiny bit and shuddered as the cold breeze outside hit him. Pulling a face, he lit the cigarette and took extra care to blow the smoke out of the doors so as not to set off the fire alarms. His eyes narrowed when he realised how dark it had grown outside and quickly turned back to the young boy. “How are you getting home after here? This pace isn’t the nicest place to be after sun down… though I’m sure you can take care of yourself. I can give you a lift if you want?”

His decided to put the basket ball up, he had been going at it ever since school was let out and he must have been here for we'll over two or three hours. He put the ball back in the big white bag that was filled with other balls and loft the heavy sack with ease before putting it back in the small closet. He had picked at the locked and carefully locked it back up and made it look like no one had even touched the closet and it's contents.

He picked up a clean towel, wiping his face off from any sweat and then rubbed down his fit body. "I'm Hunter." He said."Your going to be teaching here.....how old are you exactly?" He asked.

He could see Sammy being a music or art teacher, but the guy looked young.....maybe a year older than himself. He looked when he heard the sound of the door being open and felt cold air suddenly hit him, it was already getting dark out. Hunter wasn't in the mood to go home yet. He put his shirt back on and grabbed his book bag before walking over to where Sammy was standing."As long as you don't take me home...." He said

Sammy pulled his jacket closer around him to hug his body to stop the cold sending him in to fits of shivers. Watching the young boy clearing everything away, he couldn’t help but smile at the precision he went through to get it to look as though no one had used it. As he had said, the boy locked the closet door with ease which made Sammy wonder how many times he had actually been in here without anyone having a clue.

Turning his attention back to the car park that stood at the back of the gym, he eyed the empty spots until his eyes landed on his own car; an old dodge handed down from his aunts, and shook his head. He hadn’t even bothered clearing it out yet, empty take away boxes and empty coffee cups taking up most of the space in the back seat. He blamed his younger brother for the majority of it, always taking the car without his permission and then leaving it in a state when he got home again. With both of them being as stubborn as pie (I’m pretty sure pie is stubborn), both refused to clear it out. Turning his nose up, he glanced back at the dark haired boy and wondered if he could get away without him noticing the mess. That was if he even said yes.

Catching the boy’s name, he nodded his head in acknowledgement and then chuckled when his age was asked. A lot of people doubted him when he told them, many of them not believing him. Sometimes it was a curse looking young, especially when it came to getting served for alcohol and such things. Other times it was a godsend, always being the first to attract the attention of girls amongst all of his other friends.
“I’m old enough.” He smirked, flicking the end of his cigarette out of the door and closing it again. He eyed the boy for a moment and tried to work out how old he was. He looked quite young, younger than most of the people in the school but that had to be because of his baby faced, innocent features. “I’m 24, going on 19 again.” He said with a chuckle, referring to his slightly immature streak that usually got him in to trouble. It was of course, a joke, though the young boy didn’t seem to understand Sammy’s zany sense of humour.

Opening the door and feeling the cold wind whip at his face once more, he allowed Hunter to walk out first before turning back to lock the door. The boy’s answer had puzzled him slightly, wondering why anybody wouldn’t want to go straight home when it was dark and cold out. Stuffing his keys and his hands in to the warm depths of his pocket, he gestured in the direction of his car and tried to work out if he was even allowed to take the boy anywhere but home. He was, after all, soon to be a teacher but as he was still in training, it couldn’t harm too much could it?

Sighing, he glanced over to the boy, keeping his pace slow as he was in no rush to really get anywhere.
“So… if you don’t want to go home… where do you want to go?” He asked, shrugging his shoulders and looking at him in question. There weren’t that many places to go after dark as most places other than the bars would be closed and there was no way this kid could get away with being over 21. The only place he ever went when he needed to get away was one of three places. The forest helped him clear his head, taking his other form and letting the wind carry all his problems away, The Grill to drown his problems in the bottom of a glass and his shop, to play his guitars and… well just play his guitars.

Once he cleaned off and got dressed, he looked at Sammy when the other wolf made the joke and e just smiled some."I'm 17 going on to 21." He said back and walked over to Sammy and stepped past him. He wasn't sure where they could go or if Sammy would even go anywhere with them, seeing as they just met.

"Mmm could go to the woods and run around for a bit.....my foster parents are assholes." He said and looked around at the parking lot.

"So which car is yours?" He asked, looking back at Sammy and bite his lower lip.

Sammy found it funny how the young kid said he was going on 21, realising only then that he did actually have the mind of someone a lot more mature than most his age. It seemed they were both going in different directions when it came to age, the kid growing up far too fast and Sammy still trying to keep his youth alive.

The boys suggestion had him nodding, feeling that although it was cold, it was still one of those nights where the moon was high and nothing spelt out peace as much as the quietness that surrounded the dark forest.
“Sure.” He said simply, his eyebrows furrowing slightly from when the boy had added. He knew quite well how much parents could be assholes at times but it concerned him that the boy had added ‘foster’ on the front of the word. “You’re fostered? Me too… kinda. You’ll come to find that most people can be assholes at times…”

He grinned down at the boy who was biting his lip after asking yet another question and pulled his keys from his pocket again. Pressing the lock button with his thumb the old dodge charger beeped amongst the odd few other cars that were still there and he nodded his head in its direction. “That… is my baby. I don’t normally let people near it so consider yourself one of the lucky ones.”
He winked at the younger boy playfully before heading over to it. As soon as he got the door open, he manoeuvred as much as he could to the back seat and covered it with a couple of old hoodies he had stored in there. Those were really only there for when he couldn’t be bothered to go home and used his car as a place to sleep instead.

“I’m sorry about the slight mess… my brother hasn’t quite grasped the concept of ‘cleaning’ yet. But it’s comfortable… and warm… and gets me places so… well… yeah.” Awkwardly, he felt his cheeks brighten some as he forced himself to shut up and climb in the driver’s seat. As soon as the keys were in the ignition he nodded his head slightly to the music as the CD player burst in to life, still playing the song he had been listening to whilst driving to school that morning. Turning the volume down, he switched the heater on full blast and started the engine.
“So… late night run yeah? I like your thinking already. Umm… mind if I ask how you ended up being fostered? You don’t have to answer that… it’s up to you.”

~*~

.::NOTES::.
The car
In the stereo

He followed Sammy to a very nice looking old dodge charger. He hadn't seen on of these babies since he was just a kid. He smiled at the car, liking it already and wished he had a car that nice. He waited till Sammy was done putting old hoodies into the back of the car.

It's a very nice car..... He complimented with a smile and got in after Sammy did.

The warm air felt nice and he loved the song that was playing, rocking his head to the beat and had a big grin on his face. Sammy then asked him the question that everyone seem to ask him and he looked to the much older male for a moment and his smile disappeared. My mom was a alcoholic and my dad.......well......lets just say his taste ran towards kids.... He mumbled the last part and felt ashamed and embarassed.

Sammy grinned as Hunter nodded his head to the music, finally happy that someone else appreciated good music as beau was constantly telling him to turn it down or off when they had to travel together. Normally, unless with company that wasn’t in the form of a bratty little wolf, he turned the volume up full and sang along; often getting a lot of strange looks as he pulled faces out of the window at passing pedestrians. Like beau, they didn’t appreciate good music either.

It was odd how the boy looked at him after he had asked his question, half expecting the kid to say his parents had split up, passed away or something along those lines. But no. The reason actually made him take his eyes of the road to look back at the boy with sympathy in his eyes. It puzzled him to see Hunter act so ashamed of it, angering him slightly that someone had actually made him feel that way.

“Sick bastard...” he mumbled under his breath as he turned back to the road, not entirely sure what to say in that sort of situation. Running his hand through his hair and sighing heavily, he then turned the music lower so it was practically off and dropped his speed down a little. Nearing the road that lead directly to the forest, he kept glancing at Hunter and feeling more and more sorrier for the boy each time he did.
“Look, that isn’t your fault. You shouldn’t feel ashamed like that. I’m sure in comparison though, your step parents can’t be that bad. At least you don’t have to see him anymore right?”

Hunter had never really talked about what his dad had done to him, mainly because every time those memories came back it made him feel sick to his stomach and he felt ashamed and embarrassed for what had happened. People constantly told him that it wasn't his fault for what had happened and he knew that.....but he still felt....dirtied.

He looked to Sammy when he heard what he had whispered and turned his attention to stare at the radio when he turned it down to where it was almost off and looked back to the other wolf, hearing the same lecture that countless of people have given him.

No....there not all bad....my step dad has a temper sometimes and hits me though...... He said and immediately began to panic after he just said that and looked to Sammy with big and fear filled eyes. I-I mean I'm a bad kid so his just punishing me... He said quickly.

Things had turned slightly awkward in the car, Sammy suddenly feeling like he had no words that could ever help the kid and even if he did he knew he’d have heard it all before. Still, what else was he meant to say?
He glanced at the boy again when he went on to explain about his step father, rolling his eyes at the boy’s excuse before looking back on the road again
“Kids aren’t bad, they just make mistakes… it’s in their nature. That’s no reason to get violent though. Hell, if I had a dollar for every time I felt like hitting one of those little brats in the lessons for some of the stupid things they do I’d be a millionaire by now. Have you told anyone else about this?”

He’d reached the outline of the trees now and pulled up on the verge, his car just out of view from prying eyes. Taking another cigarette from his packet, he sparked it with his lighter before shoving both things back into his pocket. He opened the window so as not to make the boy breathe in the smoke should he not be a smoker himself before he shrugged his hoody off and flung it in the back.

It was a chilly night, a slight frost nipping at the air though he knew once he started running he’d soon warm up. It was well known that werewolves could keep their temperature as high as they needed it too survive. Leaning over the boy now, he opened the glove compartment and pulled out a pen and a jotting pad. From there he quickly wrote down his number and tore the piece out before holing it out to the boy with an encouraging smile.
“Look, I know people tell you this all the time but seriously, if you ever need any help... or anything at all, here’s my number. Give me a ring and I’ll be straight there. Now enough of this morbid stuff, you’re with me for now kid so let’s go have some fun.”

Great, if his foster dad ever found out he had told someone then all hell would break loose at home. He sigh softly and looked out the window now, thinking his big mouth would only make things for him even worst and besides Sammy was a stranger...their was no reason that he needed to be this open with the other wolf.

They pulled up on a verge, the outline of the forest just in sight. He stared out into the darkness, smiling some and took off his own jacket and before he got out, looked at Sammy as he reached over him and pulled out a piece of paper and started writing something down.

He took the paper, looking to see a number and glanced back at Sammy with a small smile. He got out of the car, taking his shirt off and wondered if he should just....get naked...his cloths already get torn when he shifts into his other form and it wasn't like he had extra cloths.

Thank you. He said now, turning his attention back to Sammy.