Werewolf.

I sat up straight, wiping drool from off my cheek as I did. I didn't know why I'd woken up but as I stared about into the dark, I could see I had been slumped on the settee.

Okay, so sue me. I was insanely tired when I had gotten in so I just crashed on the nearest, squishy thing available to me.

I was wondering why the hell I was still sat here like an idiot, awake at God knows what in the morning when a crash in the corridor outside brought my senses awake. I quietly dived off the settee and felt around for the baseball bat we kept by the door.

My hand grasped the wooden handle and I hefted it up, my position as if I was about to swing for a ball...or someones head.

Slowly, I reached for the door as I prepared to yank it open...well, that was before the door burst open before I had the chance.

In the doorway, for a brief second, a dark figure loomed over me and I freaked out. Naturally I raised the bat above my head, about to give this jerk the shock of his life. Until I realised it was Rogue.

That is...Rogue who was covered in cuts and scratches. He looked a mess, his clothes had been almost torn off his body and his shirt was hanging on by a few, measly strands of cloth.

Obviously, I could only gape as he shoved me roughly aside. He took up the space where I had been sleeping on the settee, his arms dangling over the sides, immobile.

'Oh God, Rogue. What the hell happened?' I whispered, stumbling over to where he lay and looking down on him with worry.

He was my best friend after all, heck! He was like my brother! It was hard for me to see him like this and I felt anger at whoever had done such a thing.

I stared at his chest to gawp at the long, deep gashes of red that criss-crossed in his flesh. His shoulder was worse. There was a jagged, crescent shape engraved into his skin.

'Dude...is that a bite mark?' I shuddered as I moved in to inspect it closer.

He flinched away from me, dropping a hand quickly over the mark before I could check it out any further.

'Seriously, Rogue. Whatever that is, you need to show me. Who did it? Was it some sort of sick joke?' I asked, disgusted.

'No! No...It was...like a...wolf thing.' he mumbled, squeezing his eyes shut fast. I knew why he did that, he was trying to stop himself from crying.

'A wolf?' I repeated flatly. Well, it had to be a big one to create such massive teeth marks.

'Yes, a wolf. So do you think I'm psychotic yet? Are you gonna ship me off the to loony bin?' he growled at me through clenched teeth. I was already shaking my head.

'No! Rogue...I would never do that! You're my best friend and I believe you, no matter how crazy it sounds....how much did you drink though, seriously?' I added on, sheepishly.

He glared at me, as if daring me to repeat the question again. I cringed and I knew it was a poor attempt at trying to make him laugh. That was me though, I always joked about whether the circumstances were good or not. It was sort of like a disease, I couldn't stop the words from pouring out my mouth.

What can I say? I was designed to create laughs.

'Okay, okay. I'm sorry. You know me...I can't help it.' I muttered, ashamed.

I felt Rogue's hand brush my arm and I looked up into his soft gaze. He was actually letting himself cry now and believe me, I'd only ever seen the guy cry twice before. Once, when he crushed his arm under a motorbike (he got over that obsession fast) and the other time, when he saw me break my arm. He only cried because he could see how much pain I was in...yeah, we're that close.

'It's fine. I know.' he told me. I knew it wasn't fine though, my best friend was hurt by some (apparently) freakish, large wolf thing that lurked around dark streets at night. This was not fine.

All that was like washed from my mind though when I saw him wince. He was in pain, I should help him.

'Dude, we gotta get you to the hospital. They can help you clean up the cuts and stuff, check for rabies...' I stopped short. He didn't need another joke right now.

'No, I can't go there! They won't believe me, they'll think I'm crazy! I can't...I just...can't.' he said helplessly.

Honestly, I'd never seen him so afraid before. I was getting anxious.

'Okay, I'll just clean them up the best I can, is that alright?' I asked, brushing his hair from his forehead. The amount of sweat built up there, his hair had started to stick down. He would hate that if he saw.

He relaxed and nodded, looking jumpy at every little noise. I watched him as I slunk into my bedroom to grab the first aid kit.

Something wasn't right here.