Eli walked toward the student with their hand raised, his gaze locked entirely on the ring.
Something was wrong with it.
Thin gold lines threaded through its surface, lines that had not been there before. When he reached the desk, he sat down without breaking eye contact, his attention fixed solely on the ring.
Harley sighed.
Why were all the new students strange? First the Argent girl, and now this one. Did he seriously not realize there was a person attached to that ring?
Maybe he was just shy.
Talking in chemistry class was a death sentence, but completely checking out like this wasn't much better. If she was going to get in trouble either way, she might as well get something out of it.
She lowered her hand and reached toward him.
"Hey. I'm Harley. It's nice to meet you."
Eli flinched backward.
So he was shy, she thought.
Then he looked at her properly. Curiosity sharpened his gaze as his eyes flicked from her face back to the ring.
"I'm the owner of that ring," he said. His voice was calm, but something hard edged beneath it. "What have you done to it?" And before she could react, he grabbed her hand.
"What the hell?"
She yanked back, but his grip didn't budge. It felt like her hand had been pressed into concrete. Disgust, with a hint of worry, flashed across her face.
"Let go of me," she snapped. "That was a gift from my mother."
Eli's jaw tightened.
Then her mother was the thief.
Before he could accuse her of such, a sharp voice cut through the room.
"Mr. Eli!"
Every head turned toward him, and he froze. The attention felt heavy, as if someone had placed a truck on his brain. Slowly, he released her hand as the teacher continued, his tone now cold enough to frost glass.
"Since you seem so familiar with Miss Harley already, I assume you won't mind telling us what's wrong with her titration."
Eli looked up at the teacher and around at all the other eyes staring at him. Then down at the flask on Harley's desk.
Deep purple.
She had overshot, badly.
He knew the answer instantly, but his eyes flicked back to the ring, and a strange burning need rose in his stomach.
He only wanted it back.
Just as he was about to react, the classroom door burst open. Two students stumbled inside, tripping over each other as they hit the floor in a tangle of limbs.
Eli's attention was ripped away from the ring, and everyone else's from him, to the newcomers.
The teacher's irritation flared.
"What are you fools doing?"
The boys scrambled to their feet under the weight of the class's attention. One of them, Scott, scratched the back of his head. The other looked around wildly until his eyes landed on Eli.
It was Stiles, now wearing a completely ridiculous smile.
He then lifted a blue bag and held it out.
Now in the cafeteria.
"Dude! Eli! You should've been there. Scott was like a whole new person. He put Jackson in his place, you should've seen his face."
Eli smiled as Stiles rattled on, trying to catch him up on everything that had happened since he'd left.
And a lot had happened.
Scott and Stiles had nearly finished school without him. Stiles's mother had died. Scott's father was barely around anymore. And somehow, the weirdos Eli remembered had turned into sports addicts.
Didn't Scott have asthma?
And Stiles… his mom?
Had he really missed all of that?
Clack. Clack.
Two trays landed on the cafeteria table. Scott and Stiles had just gotten lunch. Stiles slid one of the plates toward Eli.
Eli looked down at it with open disgust: chicken, beans, mashed potatoes, an apple. Then he glanced back up.
Stiles shrugged. "Hey, no more home-cooked meals for you."
Eli didn't respond. After a moment, he picked up the apple and pushed the rest of the plate away.
"So," Scott said, hesitating slightly, "what was it like?"
Eli looked at him.
He'd expected the question, but not from Scott. Scott usually didn't ask things like that. That was Stiles's job.
Both of them were watching him now, Stiles looking not one bit bothered by the fact that Scott had just stolen his thing. Eli wondered for a second if he was being crazy, and if this was just Scott's way of getting him to talk. He had been quiet the entire time. He'd been happy to see them, genuinely happy, but now it felt wrong.
They'd changed.
It was like sitting across from strangers.
But he should know them. Shouldn't he?
Scott shifted, uncomfortable with the silence. Trying again to get him to speak, he asked, "Hey, about last night. On the road, I mean. That was crazy. I swear you got hit."
Eli looked up, thinking. Scott almost getting hit by a car was more in character for him. Maybe he hadn't changed.
"What?"
"It wasn't that bad," Eli said flatly. "And you should be glad I was there. Otherwise, Stiles would be mourning right now."
Stiles nearly choked.
"What? What happened?"
When Eli explained, Stiles's excitement drained away. Scott and Stiles exchanged a brief, knowing look.
Eli noticed.
What was that?
A strange, hollow feeling settled in his chest.
Then he heard his name.
"Who, Eli? That weird kid? He was in a coma for four years."
Their words weren't particularly important, but the reminder of what he'd lost came at the absolute worst time. They touched something cold and furious inside him.
Eli turned toward the voice. It came from the far end of the cafeteria, and from the worst person it could possibly have come from at that moment.
It was her.
The girl with his ring.
She noticed him looking, then stood and walked out. Their voices carried as they left.
Eli didn't notice Scott turning his head as well.
Stiles looked between them, frowning. "Did I miss something?"
Eli stood.
"I'll be back," he said. "Going to the bathroom."
As he walked away, Stiles leaned closer to Scott. "What was that about?"
Scott hesitated. "Some girl was talking about Eli."
Stiles blinked. "What? Who?"
Scott didn't answer.
As Eli left, he didn't notice a different pair of eyes tracking him.
The hallway swallowed him.
Eli locked onto the sound of their voices. Everything else fell away: lockers, footsteps, laughter. Gone.
He followed.
He only wanted his ring.
What had she done to it?
It was his first item. The thing that proved he wasn't insane. And now it was different, changed. Wrong.
Why had she changed it?
His breathing quickened. Each step came faster than the last. The pressure in his chest built, urging him forward.
Behind him, someone followed.
They hesitated.
Hands shaking, jaw clenched, they took another step.
Enough. Stop being a wimp.
Eli cut through the crowd like a blade. Students barely registered him before they were shoved aside. One boy went down hard. Another stumbled and hit the floor.
Eli didn't even notice.
He only wanted his ring.
He was close enough to reach it, but just as he was about to, something slammed into his side.
The impact tore his momentum away, hurling him sideways. His shoulder smashed into a bathroom door as it burst open, and he hit the tile floor hard before the door swung shut.
Eli dragged in air, breaths sharp and uneven. His palms slipped against the cold floor as he pushed himself up.
He lifted his head.
His eyes were glowing.
A dark yellow smoldered behind them, like embers buried under ash. His lips peeled back as a low growl crawled out of his chest, something not entirely human.
Someone stepped inside the bathroom.
They stopped just past the doorway.
Then they changed.
Slowly.
The whites of their eyes flooded first, light bleeding outward until it consumed everything. Their breathing deepened. Bones shifted beneath skin with a quiet, sickening sound.
Every tooth lengthened into canines.
Then they spoke, their voice layered and wrong, as if several voices were forcing themselves through one throat.
"Wake up."
Eli's growl cut off.
The glow in his eyes flickered, then vanished.
He blinked.
Once.
Twice.
The bathroom snapped back into focus: the harsh lights, the smell of cleaner, the dull ache screaming through his shoulder.
He stared at the figure in front of him.
"What the hell are you?"
The light in their eyes receded. The transformation unwound itself as easily as it had begun.
When they spoke again, their tone was lighter. Almost amused.
"Don't you want to know what you are first?"