Laik came to a complete stop when he rounded the corner of the street with the local bakery. Levi was sitting slumped on a bench outside of the said bakery. He was currently glaring at the road, crutches laying on the ground like they had been thrown there. Laik looked up at the sky. “I feel like I’m being mocked.”

Walking over to Levi’s angry form, he watched as Levi reached up to rub the heel of his palm against one eye. Well, this was going to get awkward.

Laik stopped at the end of the bench. “Hey.”

Levi looked up at him with angry, vivid green eyes. “What?”

“Callen said you forgot your things.” He held up the coat and styrofoam cup. “I think the drink has cooled a bit, though.”

Looking away, Levi bunched up the cuff of his long sleeve shirt to rub over his face, mostly around his eyes. When he looked back, Levi reached a hand out to Laik. Laik passed the coat to him. Levi pulled the coat on, and Laik was caught off guard by how the coat seemed to fit properly across Levi’s shoulders. Andrew had been on the other side of six feet, so the coat should have been oversized on Levi. When Levi looked up at him again, Laik handed him the cup of cocoa. “Thanks.”

“No problem.”

Levi tugged at the perforated edges of the cup’s lid to open it. He took a drink, and before Laik could leave, he asked. “Why are small towns so full of gossip?”

Laik paused in his turning away. He looked at Levi’s frown and then, with a sigh, plopped on the bench. Levi looked at him, startled. “You get used to it. After a while.”

“I want to go back to the city. It was easier when people didn’t know me by name.”

Laik shrugged his shoulders. “I have a favorite gossip story about why I moved here. Everyone thought I was in trouble with the law, and this was my last chance to fix myself and become a,” he made quotation marks in the air, “Proper Citizen.” Laik gave a little lopsided grin. “Apparently, I give off that bad boy vibe.”

Levi let out a snort. “Sure, if bad boys volunteered at hospitals taking out the trash.”

Laik chuckled, “Ah yes, taking out the trash. I’m good at that.”

 “If only that was the topic of the gossip about me and mom, though. It would be so much easier.”

“It’s gossip. People get bored, you're new in town. It’s exciting to them.”

They sat there in silence for a few minutes. “We used to live here.” Levi seemed uncertain with the sentence. “When I was younger. I just… maybe the gossip is true.”

Laik leaned back to watch the clouds float by. “Ask your mom. She’ll know the answer.”

“You ever had something you were afraid to find out from your parents?”

“Many things.”

Levi let out a loud, aggravated sound as he leaned forward to rest his forehead on his cup. “It’s like coming out all over again.” Laik fought to keep a straight face as Levi sat up and looked at him with wide eyes. “Crap, I probably shouldn’t say that out loud.”

Turning his head, he gave Levi his best-bored face. “You’ll just have to keep it quiet around some of the older folks; otherwise, it’s just gossip.” He looked back up at the clouds as he scratched his chest. “One of the reasons the ‘Proper Citizen’ gossip started was because of something I did when I first moved here.”

Levi squinted at Laik in suspicion. “What exactly did you do?”

Laik gave a grin.

“Yeah, now I’m worried.”

“Ask Rylie to tell you the story. She tells it better.”

“Who is Rylie?”

“Best friend and works at the public library.”

Levi looked out at the road as a car pulled up. He gave a groan and slumped further on the bench. “How the hell did he find me?”

Laik looked over his shoulder at the bakery window to see a worried Rhea quickly move away. “The world will never know.” He turned back in time to see a very angry Cain glaring at him. “Oh, look, the guard dog is off his leash.” Michael was quickly scrambling out of his car after Cain.

Levi was startled at the comment. “So you two do know each other?”

“Yep.”

“You dipstick.”

“Cain! Don’t you dare!”

“You stay away from him.” Cain caught the front of Laik’s shirt and yanked him up on his feet. It was comical seeing someone that was a full head shorter than Laik yanking him around. Laik knocked his hands away and straightened himself up. Cain firmly planted himself between Levi and Laik. Levi watched as Cain growled up at Laik and Laik just gave an amused smile.

Michael quickly shoved himself between the two and pushed them apart. “Enough!” He turned towards Cain, “You have been pissy since you’ve gotten here. I know you heard me this morning.” Michael shoved him towards Levi. “We’re working together from this point on. Laik knows the area better than us, and he can help. So go cool your head.”

“No, I refuse to let his ilk try to sway Levi before he figures out things.”

Laik bristled. “My ilk. Are you referring to the general group or the ones that hurt you? Because I’m not them!”

“You're all the same! Every one of you, all you want is power! A foothold over someone else! And we get caught in the crossfire!”

“You really don’t understand anything if you think I wanted any of this bullcrap.”

Cain tried to shove past Michael, but Michael yanked him back. “Cain!” Michael looked at Levi, and Cain turned to see Levi watching them, confused. “Now is not the time.”

Levi slowly reached for his crutches and stood up. “I think I want to go home now.”

“And we will. I just need to head in and talk to Rhea.” Michael gave a sheepish laugh when Levi leveled a glare at him. “Right, Cain, can you help Levi in the car while I go talk to Rhea.”

“I’m not a child Michael.” Levi slowly made his way over to the car. “I have a broken leg.”

“Speaking of, you’re supposed to be wearing a brace on your hand.”

Laik let out a snort of laughter when Levi flipped Michael off and stuck his tongue out. “You're nagging.” He muttered behind Michael, who shot Laik an unamused look. “I’m going to head back to Allyssa. You said something about working with you.”

Michael was pushing Cain towards the car. “Yes, I’ll call you. We need help with tracking a stray. We lost his trail two counties over.”

Laik hummed as he thought about it. “Could be he entered the witch’s territory.”

Levi perked his head up. “Witches.”

Michael looked at Levi, startled, “You forget that.”

“Wait, there’s a witch around here. Like a real witch.”

Cain muttered, “If only he knew.” Michael elbowed Cain in the ribs and had to bite his lip to keep from grimacing from the phantom pain he felt in retaliation.

Levi looked at Michael. “Can I come?”

“No.” Michael and Laik looked at each other in surprise when they both said the same thing. Finally, Laik cleared his throat and shook his head. “Those woods aren’t safe. Over there, people go missing, and unexplained things happen. And, well, after what happened to you… maybe avoid the woods for now.”

Levi paused and had to fight the shiver when he remembered the giant wolves. He gave a huff before climbing into the back of the car. “Spoilsports.”

As soon as the car door closed, Michael shoved Cain towards the car. “Sit with him, make sure he doesn’t do stupid teenager stuff.”

“Like you did?”

Michael flipped him off.

“You keep doing that, but you never follow through,” Cain called out as he opened the car door.

Michael dropped his face against his palm. “Help me.” When he looked back up, Laik was looking away and trying to hide the amused grin. “You don’t start.” He pulled a pad of paper out of his coat pocket. “Here, we can talk more about the stray when Levi isn’t around.”

“You’re going to have to explain everything to him. I’d do it sooner than later.”

Michael shrugged as he rubbed at his knitted hat. “That’s why I’m planning to take him to see Kevin next weekend. He’ll be off his crutches by Monday at the latest. He’s too stubborn to stay on them the full six weeks.”

Laik couldn’t help the chuckle. “If you want any demonstrations, I’ve been told I’m extra fluffy. And apparently, that’s a good thing.”

“I don’t think it will come to that.”

Laik nodded, “I’m going to head back to where Allyssa is. Just give me a call anytime later today.”

Michael waved as Laik walked away and then shot a glare at Cain. Cain pointedly looked away. With a sigh, Michael walked over to the bakery. “Now to deal with this."