Chapter 4: Fate’s Distraction

Another boring day with even more boring humans who stare at Scott like he’s just another piece of eye candy. Work at New Leaf Groceries was always fast-paced for Scott which promised him the comfort of an empty mind. Greet the customers, scan their groceries, bag them up, and wish them a nice day.

‘Moon Goddess help me,’ Scott internally cursed when he recognized the shaggy red hair and golden eyes with a glimmer of mischief in them. “Set your groceries on the belt, anything heavy can be left in the cart and I can use my hand scanner.” Scott greeted the man, matching his side smile and watching him unload his cart.

“I forgot you were working here, Scott! Looks like I might get my shopping here done more often.” The man responded..

The tone of his voice was light and mischievous, and Scott couldn’t help but laugh with him. Ruben Weaver. Scott knew him as Miles’ Beta in The Shadow Fang Pack. But despite his status as Miles’ Beta, the wolf-shifter was also Scott’s best friend. Ruben had been his best friend since they’d met nine years ago, Scott was at least grateful to Shadow Fang because without them he wouldn’t have met the man.

“Lies. You and everyone else know exactly where I work.” He responded with a smirk, it was one of those slow periods at work which meant he could take as long as needed with Ruben.

“What brings you to my store anyway? You know I’m working until three, then I have to go pick up Theo from school.” Scott questioned his friend with a raised brow as he went about scanning the items. Mostly packets of meat, lots of them, and a variety of fruits and vegetables. It made Scott wonder if Alpha Miles was throwing yet another feast for the pack, he knew all too well just how much Miles enjoyed the pack getting together for a fun night.

“How is Theo, by the way? I should visit you guys, stop by for dinner or plan a movie night or something. Been a while since I’ve seen your baby brother.” Ruben responded and Scott couldn’t tell if he was being serious or if he was joking. Off the top of his head, he certainly couldn’t remember the last time Ruben had stopped by the house to see either brother.

“He’s doing good, I met with his teachers yesterday for Report Card Conferences. Straight A’s and B’s but that’s no surprise, he’s always been a smart kid.” Scott responded with a nod of his head and a ghost of a smile. His mind immediately drifted back to Lance again. His body moved mechanically to continue working while his mind remembered every little detail about Lance yesterday followed by the harsh tug in his soul.

The way Lance’s blue-grey eyes lit up with excitement as soon as he started talking about Theo, the big smile on his face, and how animated he was with his body. It took all of Scott’s strength to pull himself out of the memories, especially when he felt Ruben’s eyes patiently staring right back at him. Yikes. How long had he zoned out?

“So anyway… Theo is doing good in his classes, that’s good to hear. You should bring him around more, I know the other pups miss seeing him and it might do him some good to spend more time with his kind.” Ruben said in an attempt to clear the air, keeping his voice low to make sure no one else would overhear.

“I’ll run it by Theo and see if he wants to visit the pack sometime this week. I’m sure he’d be psyched, and it won’t kill the kid to ease up on his homework and school.” Scott responded with a grin and nod. He enjoyed these simple moments with Ruben, it reminded Scott that he wasn’t the only wolf-shifter around and that he could be himself entirely.

Once Ruben was gone, another reminder of the slow period of work, Scott was left with his own thoughts again as he worked. Scott couldn’t stop how his mind gravitated back to Lance yet again. Internally cursing himself for how the pull was wearing down on his defenses, he wanted to accept the chance at having a mate but he was also reminded of his family and the damage that humans like Lance were capable of.

Silver eyes danced between looking out towards the aisles and back to his workstation as he cleaned, in moments like these he had to remind himself that he was at work and he couldn’t let his mind wander back to his supposed mate.

“What would Mom and Dad think about Lance? Or even Adan?” Scott snarled through clenched teeth, the tug of the pull coupled with a flare of anger burning through his body.

***

LONE PINE ACADEMY

Lance found himself drifting off into his memories yet again, was this the fifth or sixth time? It was only when Theo had walked up to his desk with the stack of tests that he was pulled back to reality.

“Thank you, Theo.” He muttered with a weak smile and a slight nod of his head, watching the boy flash him a smile before retreating back to his seat in the back. He scolded himself for getting distracted by Scott, but also worried about just how powerful these feelings were.

“I will be getting your tests back to you in the next few days, we will keep homework light with pages… twenty-five to thirty in your workbooks. Let’s also include the next chapter of The Great Gatsby and we’ll discuss it in the next class.” Lance went on to say as he jumped to his feet, faking a smile and a bounce in his step as he glanced at the clock. Lunchtime. Perfect for both students and teachers alike.

“Are you sure you’re okay, Mr. Robbins? You seemed… out of it today in class.” Theo was one of the last students to leave for lunch.

Always lingering to chat up Lance and he couldn’t help but smile at the boy’s concern. He could see similarities in how Scott and Theo held themselves, both brothers seemed to be hiding something but where Scott seemed to be held back by his secret Theo embraced the secret and seemed to move past it.

“Mr. Robbins?” Theo’s voice had snapped him out of his thoughts once again and he couldn’t help but blush in embarrassment.

“It’s just been a very long day, Theo. Plenty on my mind but there’s nothing that you should concern yourself with. Go and enjoy your lunch.” Lance was quick to dismiss the boy with a warm smile and a wave of his hand.

The boy lingered for a second longer before finally nodding and disappearing out the door. Like Scott, Lance found himself distracted at work and his mind was constantly drifting back to the other man.

“I have a problem…” Lance whined as he called up Leo White in between bites of his food, groaning at the way the man laughed at him through the phone. Lance was starting to regret calling Leo for this kind of problem, even though he’d always gone to the man for this exact reason.

“Let me guess, trouble in paradise with Scott Pittman? Again?” Lance could hear the smirk in the man’s voice followed by the heat rising to his face. “So talk to me, Lance. Absolve your sins to me, release the demons in your soul!”

There was a teasing tone in Leo’s voice but Lance couldn’t help but laugh at his friend’s theatrics. Lance could always trust Leo to add a bit of flair to the conversation and get a laugh out of him, especially in the worst of times. Lance spared a quick glimpse at the door as if he was expecting Scott himself to waltz into the room at this very moment, before finally opening up to Leo.

“Theo is my student, and Scott is Theo’s brother. There has to be some kind of moral ground that I’m treading on just for having a crush on my student’s brother. Not to mention I don’t even know if he’s interested in someone like me at all. I mean if you’d see him you’d understand what my problem is! It’s better for everyone if I keep my distance from Scott right? I mean what am I supposed to say if I decide to visit that bookstore again while he’s working? It’s just that there’s something about him that’s so interesting and it just feels like I can’t stop thinking about him no matter how hard I try… I don’t understand it and I wish that I could.” Lance had to stop himself from rambling too much and it was only when he finally shut up that he realized just what he’d said, the embarrassment returning full force.

When Lance was met with silence on the other end, he had to worry that perhaps the call had disconnected or that he’d hung up but the sigh he heard from Leo gave him some relief.

“It sounds like you have it bad for this Scott, dude. The way you just rambled on about him, it’s way different than how you talked about your last boyfriend.” Leo responded and the mix of happiness and concern in the tone of his voice had Lance concerned. Was all of this a good thing? A bad thing?

“I don’t remember ever feeling this way with my last relationship. Why is this one… Scott, I mean, so different?” Lance complained despite how his mind savored the memories of Scott.

The man who sat across from him. His silver eyes that seemed to look right through him and a twitch in his lips whenever his eyes met Lance's. There was a strong part of Lance had wanted to reach out and close the distance between them. That something that called to Lance pulled at him as if Scott were the flame, and Lance was the Moth. Even more terrifying for Lance was that he wanted to follow every impulse, and desire, he wanted to get closer to Scott no matter what walls the man put up, or obstacles in their way.

“You have it bad for your student’s brother… Maybe he feels the same way. But if you keep running and avoiding these feelings, there’s no guarantee that they’ll go away. Let’s talk it over at the diner, after work.” Leo responded.

“Your family diner? I’ll meet you there once I get off work,” Lance responded, thanking his best friend for his words of comfort before hanging up. ‘Leo has a point. I don’t know if Scott felt the same connection but I can’t keep pretending that everything is okay,’ Lance thought as he dropped his head into his hands.

Lance could only hope that he wasn’t setting himself up with failure with Scott. To him, that felt far worse than trying to ignore and bottle up these new feelings.