Dean jogs around the football field, far ahead of his teammates as his gear jostles against his body rhythmically. He breathes softly, focusing on the movement of the running and the feeling of the grass beneath his feet. Behind him, he can hear Chase and his other teammates laughing together as they warm up.

Dean's mind, however, is on what's going on at his home. Sarina being back is definitely happy, but the news she brought back with her certainly isn't. The Foot Clan is returning, meaning that the entire Hamato Clan has to be ready to fight back. That means extra training for everyone.

Dean's sapphire eyes flicker to the stands, where he can see the cheerleaders chatting and going over formations. Katie looks up and waves at him, to which he returns the small gesture. He looks back at the path ahead of him as he jogs around the corner, his breaths coming a little faster as his strong legs push him further and further.

He glances to his shoulder, where he knows his human patch is hidden beneath his right shoulder pad. He'll have to be quick with changing it after today's game, knowing that this one won't last the entire evening. He looks up at the stands, where his cousins, friends, and little sister are gathered. Ruby, Asher's violin teacher, is with them too, going over music with the intelligent teenager. He smiles and adjusts his glasses, throwing her a sideways glance.

Nearby, Venus and Blake leap up and down the empty bleachers with Keith, racing each other over and over again. Copeland and Tiki roll their eyes a little every time they go rushing past them, but then they smile at each other and continue with their homework. Dakota, Kelly, and Lukas do homework with Mitch and Nixie, knowing that they need some extra help understanding the scientific concepts from today's lesson. Elisabeth reads a Space Heroes graphic novel next to Copeland and Tiki, once in while meeting her friend's eyes and smiling at him.

Dean's chest swells with pride as he forces himself to keep the pace. Speeding up and showing off will do nothing for him other than making him look like a complete jerk.

"Team! Huddle up!" the coach, Mr Livingston, calls.

Dean jogs to his coach as his teammates join him. Mr L goes over the various plays, as well as the plan for tonight. Of course, he also adds in the whole, "This team is my heart and soul, and I want to see you win this. Win this for our school, but also win it for me. I need this," speech.

The huddle breaks so a few more drills can be run. Chase shoots Dean a winning smile and jostles his shoulder.

"You ready for this?" he asks, puffing a little as he bounces in place.

Dean nods. "As I'll ever be."

"Good. We need everyone ready for the championships this year. We're gonna make it this time, I know it." The blond wraps an arm around the disguised mutant's shoulder. "Especially with you as our quarterback."

That makes Dean smile, proud that he's being a good leader. He maneuvers out of Chase's grip and laughs, punching at his friend's chest plate lightly.

"Well, we aren't going to win standing around! Let's go!"

The two boys dash off to join their team.

🍕🐢🍕🐢🍕🐢🍕🐢🍕

Elisabeth sighs a little as she watches Dean race up and down the field, his brow furrowed with determination. Her coffee brown eyes flicker around to each of her other friends, noticing that they all look happy. Still, something puts her off, and it isn't a new feeling.

In fact, she's been feeling suspicious for weeks now. First, Nixie seemed to know something secretive, and then that secret seemed to spread to each of the others inside the group. Something Elisabeth definitely doesn't like is being excluded, but she decides to put it to rest again as she looks towards the field.

The cheerleaders are warming up, flipping and twisting and turning and smiling those winning smiles. Elisabeth watches them, admiring their swift movements. She likes that each of them are different, unique. There's a couple white girls, a few Hispanic, some Asian, some African American. Some are shorter, some are taller, some are thin, some are more on the muscular side...it's a lovely mix of girls.

A small spark of jealousy ignites inside Elisabeth's chest as her eyes flicker to the brown-eyed, ombré-haired cheerleader in the third row. She doesn't stop smiling, twisting and turning easily with the routine of the other girls.

Elisabeth narrows her eyes, not liking how the violin duet going on nearby (courtesy of Asher and Ruby) is making her feel like she's in some sort of romantic tragedy movie. She fixes her ponytail a little, flipping a page in her comic and trying to look busy.

🍕🐢🍕🐢🍕🐢🍕🐢🍕

"The timer goes! That's a win for Roosevelt Vikings, the final score 28-21!"

Every supported of Roosevelt in the stands cheers and leaps to their feet, waving the school colours as they whistle and hoot in response. The team shakes hands with their opponents before heading off to the sidelines. Katie dashes up to Dean with an excited glint in her eyes.

"Good job today, Dean! You did amazing!" She winks. "As per usual."

He smiles and rubs the back of his neck. "Thanks Kate, but it wasn't all me."

"Oh, of course! You all did fantastic," she corrects. "Oh, Dean, I was hoping you'd-"

"Actually," he interrupts gently, thinking of his human patch. "I've got to get changed. I'll meet you out here or something."

Katie nods. "Sure thing. See you soon!"

She pecks his cheek before bouncing away to greet the other girls and guys. He breathes a sigh of relief and heads off towards the change rooms a little ways away. He feels his body starting to tingle, knowing that the mutagen effect is wearing off. Panicking a little and not wanting to ruin his uniform, he starts undressing as he runs, carrying the removed articles with him.

Just as he throws himself into the empty change rooms, his wings reappear and his tail appears through the special hole he put in each of his boxers. He pants a little and leans over, his sweaty chest rising and falling sharply as he catches his breath. Everything except his shoes and boxers are on the ground, making him feel quite bare.

He sits down on a nearby bench and pulls off his human patch, crumpling the sticker and chucking it in the trash. Just as he stands up again, a silhouette appears at the doorway. His claws unsheathe out of habit as he flaps his wings nervously.

"Dean? You forgot your-" Katie calls.

He doesn't have enough time to hide before she peeks into the room. She freezes upon seeing him, taking in the fact that he's half-naked and has piercing wolf eyes paired with numerous other wolf characteristics. The water bottle, his water bottle, that she was holding in her hands falls to the floor as her face goes slack.

"Kate, please don't-" he starts.

"AAAAAGGGGGHHHHHHHH!" she screams, backing up and fumbling around for something to fight him with.

"Kate, calm down!" he pleads.

"HELP! HEL-"

He lunges, clapping a hand over her mouth and pulling her completely into the small building. She stares up at him with wide eyes, his fangs glinting slightly as he grits his teeth.

"Be...quiet..." he orders fiercely.

She nods hurriedly and squirms underneath his strong grip. Slowly, he releases her, and she gasps for breath dramatically as she moves away from him. He holds his hands out in front of him, sheathing his claws as he does so.

"Dean?" she whispers.

"Yeah...yeah, it's me. Please don't scream any more, okay?" he pleads.

"Why...why do you look like some kind of monster?"

His heart stings at the word, but he hides it swiftly. "This...is what I really look like, okay? I'm a wolf-raven mutant, and my parents-"

"Okay, you know what? I'm just gonna leave," she says, cutting him off as she rubs her temples. "I can't do this right now."

"Kate, please, just let me explain."

She doesn't respond, her lips pursed. She adjusts her bag on her shoulder and scoots away towards the door, her expression troubled and still scared.

"I'll...I'll just talk to you tomorrow," she utters.

Then, she flees from the doorway and races back towards the main field. Dean moves to the exit and peeks out, feeling his chest ache uncomfortably at the encounter as his ears droop.

Then, another familiar voice sounds nearby.

"Dean?"

He freezes and slinks back, his heart pounding faster and faster. Footsteps approach the room, but he hides in the shadows and holds his breath. Elisabeth's voice breaks the tense silence again.

"Dean? Please come out. I...I heard everything. I just want to help," she calls.

She looks over at the darkened spot where Dean is hiding, her face scrunching slightly with confusion. Dean releases a small breath as he holds back a cuss word, realizing that his eyes sort of glow in darkness.

"Dean?"

He moves into the little bit of light illuminating the room, allowing Elisabeth to see him. Her face seems to soften with understanding, as if something she couldn't understand before just started to make sense.

"That's what you were hiding," she whispers.

He raises his head to look at her, heartbroken. "What? That I'm some freak? A monster?"

His voice breaks and he looks away, his wings folding over his bare back. After a moment of silence, a gentle hand caresses his bicep.

"You aren't a freak," Elisabeth says, her tone honest and sincere.

He turns around, ears still flattened against his head tentatively. "You...you aren't scared?"

A small smile crosses her face. "Honestly...I think I like the real you more."

She leans up and kisses his cheek gently. Before he can respond, she too turns and leaves the change room. He stares after her, gently reaching a hand up to touch the spot on his cheek.

"Woah..." he whispers, his tail wagging a little.