Narhi breathes out. Then in. Then out. His tattooed hands grip the steering wheel. It'd be weird to sit here in Max's driveway after rushing out of the window like that so he starts driving away as normally as he can manage. Not that anyone is watching him but it kind of feels that way.

"Don't think about it." He tells himself. Out loud, of course, because that makes it feel like advice. "What would dad say?" Narhi makes a face like he's supposed to be an old person but it just looks like a huge scowl and squinty eyes.

"Why so feral today, pup?" He says in an artificially deep voice.

"Omigod, I don't want to talk about it, dad!" He says back to himself, then shakes his head. "That's not helpful… because I'm freaking out trying really hard not to come on really strong because the guy I like is like, clearly traumatized and thought he was human up until about a month ago."

"That sounds like a real bummer." Narhi pulls to a near screeching stop on the side of the road and rests his head on the steering wheel over his hands. The sun is low in the sky and the inside of his car is orange and silent.

"Dad wouldn't say that." He whispers solemnly to himself. "I have no idea what dad would say to me right now." I really wish he was here right now, was left unsaid. But Narhi, alone in the piercing silence of his little electric car could hear his thoughts even louder than his words and they hurt just a little bit.

"Uuuuugggghhhhhhh!!!!!!" He shouts into the silence. "Why are you so awkward?!" There's a vibration in his pocket and Narhi is struggling so hard not to jump out and flip the car that he almost misses the call. Without moving from his shame grip on the steering wheel, he presses a button and listens.

'Uh. Hello?' The most attitude.

"What do you want, Abbie?"

'An internet presence and some boba would be nice.'

"I'm hanging up."

'Don't hang up! I sense a disturbance in the force!'

Narhi's finger stops just before the button. "What?"

'I'm kidding. I called for Max's number but you sound upset so it's tea time now.'

"Why wouldn't you just text me?"

'Because that's impersonal, you millennial.'

"Same age, but okay."

'And because my hands are full of fucking magic right now.'

"So just text me when your hands are free then."

Abbie just laughs for a full 30 seconds. 'Don't be a stereotype."

"Okay, well I'll text you his number, then, bye."

'Come on, Usko.'

"Don't call me that."

'Tell me what's going on.'

Narhi stares hard at the clock like if he concentrates enough he could turn it into Abbie's face. It's silent until the silence makes him impatient, which doesn't take long. "I don't know how to do this. How do I make him like me? How do I do it without seeming like a creep? It's already super hard to keep my hands to myself. I can't just tell him about imprinting. He didn't even know we existed up until now!"

'Aww. Okay, well, first. You need to relax. Max isn't going anywhere and I can already tell after only meeting him once that he's attached to you."

"What? How? In what way? What makes you think that?"

"Jeez. How did that give you even more anxiety?"

"Abbie!" Narhi's yelling at the clock now like a fool and Abbie just laughs.

"I can just tell these things." She ignores the sound of a very dissatisfied wolf. "And second. If you're so concerned about Max's emotional health, why don't you just ask him about it?"

Narhi looks absolutely appalled. "I can't just ask him about it! How would I even do that??" He makes his voice kind of deeper for some reason even though he's imitating himself. "Hey Max, I noticed you have some issues, wanna talk about it?"

"I mean…"

"No, you ghoul! I'm not going to do that!"

"Then ask him about what happened to his family or how he got the scar."

"That's even worse!"

"Is it? He knows what happened to yours."

Narhi stares at the clock but he's not really looking at it. He's not looking at anything, really. He's too busy realizing that Max has already unlocked his tragic backstory and that he might actually have enough points to do the same back.

"Narhi?"

"Okay. I can do that. But there's another problem now."

"Can you please stop psyching yourself out?"

"No, Abbie. I was in a hurry and I slipped and we fell." Silence. She must not be getting it. "Like into a classic ecchi anime position."

Abbie laughs one loud short laugh. "Okay, so? Was he weird about it?"

"Not exactly… but I…"

"Omigod. Did you kiss him? Did you get a boner?"

"Not noticeably. Not the point. No, I didn't kiss him but I almost wolfed out and I pinned him so I think I was going to try something."

Abbie near screams in delight. "What did he do? What did he say?!"

"He said it was... fine?"

"Ugh, I just know you're not recalling this situation right."

"I'm telling you what happened!!"

"Just relax, alright? Stuff happens. I'm sure it's fine. If he didn't get mad or uncomfortable then everything is good and you shouldn't be stressing so much."

"I guess so."

"Besides, imprinting is ancient magic. The wolf is tied closer to the strings of fate than any other spirit. You guys are meant to be. It'll happen. He just hasn't seen it yet."

Narhi relaxes a bit, actually. "That wasn't a terrible pep talk, I guess."

"That's what I'm here for. Not terrible pep talks."

"Thanks, Abbie." He says and it's soft and genuine and maybe too much for her.

"Text me his number, okay? Don't forget."

"I won't."

She doesn't say anything after that. She just hangs up. But Narhi isn't freaking out as much as before so that's not as annoying as it would normally be to him. So, he opens his messages and sends Abbie the number. Then he stares at the last thing Max texted him.

Max:

St John's Wort is an herb that treats depression, but there are also ornamental kinds. You can tell which one is medicinal because if you rub the yellow flower, it'll leave a red stain on your hands.

Narhi laughs a bit through his nose. "Alright. Talk to him. You can do that."

Narhi:

tell me a plant fact

Narhi pauses for a sec before he drives back onto the road. "You can do that." He repeats while his phone vibrates on the passenger's seat and, let's be real. He pulls over again to read the text.