*(Chapter 4)*
"I am calm," I chanted as I sat in the backyard of my home with my grandmother sitting behind me, our backs grazing each other as we sat facing in different directions as we meditated. "I am in control," my grandmother thought this would be a good idea to boost the power I had and get a little more control over my emotions. "I have the power…I am getting bored."
I felt a hand slap me in back of my head and began giggling turning to look over my shoulder at my irritated grandmother. "Stop joking around, Samuel." She ordered turning her body to face me.
I rolled my eyes doing the same. "All I'm saying is that there has to be an easier way for me to stay calm." I said and then shot her a pointed look. "And next time, without me having to cancel another date, between you and Stiles, I'll never get laid…" I trailed off when she raised a brow, I blushed, "a pizza in front of me." I finished.
She nodded her head. "Nice save." Her voice was as dry as the Sahara Desert.
"Okay, changing the subject, I wanted to talk to you about the pain inflicting ability," she inclined her head to the right so I took that as a go on. "Well, I tried using it and it immediately tired me out, should that happen or am I not strong enough for it yet?" I asked, I don't want to tell her but I'm starting to a feel little insecure, magic shouldn't be hard to use and I've known about this for the last week and a half.
My grandma was quiet for a moment staring at me and then like a whip, I felt her magic lash out and wrap around her. She narrowed her eyes; I scrunched up my brows when I felt a headache storming in my head. "Try it on me." She ordered, I felt the headache recede.
I huffed a little tired and shot her incredulous look. "Are you insane? I'm not sure why you even used it on me!" I exclaimed.
She shrugged her shoulders. "To give you a small taste of what it feels like when its used on someone, at this level in your abilities you should be able to cause a headache but if you try to push yourself further than what you're ready for you'll feel fatigued." She explained. "Now, try but don't try too hard."
I was tempted to try on her but I couldn't, I shook my head. "Nah," I said standing up and grabbing my jacket from the ground. "I'll try it out on some unlucky person when I'm at school tomorrow." I hadn't talked to Scott or Stiles at all today, all Sunday I've been practicing with my grandma and reading from my mother's grimoire.
"All right, I'm already packed and ready to go out of town with Mabel for two weeks, will you be alright?"
"Yup, I have stayed home alone before, and I need anything I'll call grandpa or Mr. Stilinski."
"That's not what I was worried about."
I turned glancing over my shoulder; her green eyes were glint with concern. "I'll be fine." I waved my hand dismissively and walked into the house through the back door that leads to the kitchen. I grabbed an apple from the island as I moved past it to walk through the hall and up the stairs.
I made it to my room and waved my hand shutting the door after me; I walked over and sat at my desk. There were three colored pencils out of the box: red, yellow and blue. My hands waved over them trying to decide which one I would use until I decided to use both red and yellow. I put them to the side to use later and then grabbed my pencil to begin drawing.
As I began I glanced at the clock above me, it was almost eleven o'clock meaning I'd need to get to bed soon, now really, but I felt the strong urge to draw something. When I meditated I kept picturing a pair of yellow and red eyes staring at me for some reason, and the sense of dread washed over me. My grandma told me it was normal to feel these types of things saying that it's the spirit's way of trying to warn us of something.
I paused in my drawings, I drew two eyes but they weren't identical to one another. Staring at the left one I knew this eye belonged to Scott. I reached over to the yellow pencil and began to fill it in but turning the right eye, I filled it in with red.
This doesn't make any sense, Scott's eyes were yellow when he changed but the alpha's were red…were the spirits trying to tell me that the alpha was closing in on Scott? I groaned standing from my chair, I hate riddles.
I stripped myself of my shirt and tossed it to the floor as I began to walk towards my bathroom. I really needed to stop worrying about Scott so much, which is why I decided not to call him today, I was a little pissed that he played the game yesterday and I'm sick of worrying that he's going to hurt someone while he keeps putting himself in the position to do it, just to impress some girl.
I scoffed shaking my head as I walked into the bathroom shedding my pants, maybe I was being a bit too judgmental about the whole thing, I mean, I know how it feels to finally have a dream come true and for it to be ripped right from under you but what I didn't know is how I would deal being a werewolf and having that happen to me.
I turned on the hot water followed by the tilt of cold before taking off the rest of my clothes and climbing in. I closed my eyes focusing on anything else because here I am, worrying about Scott yet again. I needed a hobby and to mind my own business. I guess throwing myself into a date wasn't going to work since I keep canceling, but I could throw myself into my magic…nah, I'll just start hanging with Lydia more.
After drying off and pulling on some sweat pants I shot a quick text to Lydia to pick me up tomorrow morning before falling to sleep.
(The Next Morning)
I sat in the kitchen dressed and groomed ready for school, I woke up a little early not being able to sleep. Every time I closed my eyes I saw those mismatched eyes staring at me hungrily, like they would have liked nothing more than a pair of arms to wrap around my neck to snap it.
I heard a horn blow from outside and raised a brow, it sounded like it came from in front of my house but it was a little too early for Lydia to be here, I know how long it takes her to get ready. I grabbed my back pack and walked out the front door freezing when I saw a familiar black car sitting there. There window rolled down and a pair of green eyes were watching me. "Need a ride?" he asked.
Derek Hale; I gulped down something akin to a boulder before shaking my head. "N-nah, I have a friend picking me up." I said nervously before glancing down at the phone in my hand, there were no new notifications. Damn you Lydia.
He raised a brow. "Well, I'm here now." He said. "Plus, I want to talk…unless you want to talk where your neighbors can hear." He shot a glance next door. I glanced over and saw my elderly neighbors, Mr. Wilson, kneeling over his garden but kept shooting the unfamiliar guy looks.
He cornered me, if I didn't get in he'd get out and I don't know how well that would go, I'd rather not have an audience if I was forced to talk to this guy. I sighed shaking my head already regretting my decision; I walked towards his car and climbed into the passenger's seat. After putting on my seatbelt, he took off.
I lived twenty minutes away from the school so I wouldn't have to share car space with him too long. The drive way quiet and I knew he was waiting for me to say something; Derek doesn't seem like the conversation type.
I breathed deeply before exhaling. "What did you want to talk about?" I demanded.
Derek turned and raised a brow. "That was just to get you in the car." He stated before turning to face forward.
I snorted. "You know telling kids that you have candy works too, just a heads up." I said sarcastically.
"Stop talking." He ordered shooting me a dark look. I frowned and then crossed my arms over my chest, pouting. "I've already been sent to jail by you, I won't risk it again."
I gasped. "Are you serious?" I demanded. "Derek, we thought you killed that girl! What else should we have done? What would you have done?"
"Minded my own business."
"That's just crazy talk." I refuted.
"You may as well have brought me to the hunters," he said pulling over to the side of the road and turned to me. "Because of what you three idiots did, they all know I'm here and where my location is, and not only that, Scott almost transformed right in front of the Argent."
I flinched guiltily, Scott did a good job keeping Allison's father from seeing his transformation at the game Saturday and I'm glad, who knows what he would have done. "Look, Derek, I'm sorry about that, really…" I trailed off not sure if I should say anymore but did anyways. "I'm sorry about your sister."
I tensed when his head snapped in my direction. He stared hard for a moment before facing forward again. "The hunters are going to come looking for me and who's going to help your friend with this afterwards? Stiles? You can't find anything useful about us on google." He stated ignoring what I said.
I frowned. "He has my grandmother and me," I hesitated; okay maybe he didn't have my grandmother. "I'm sure there's something I could do."
"Your magic can't change a person's nature, if it were that easy witches would have done it centuries ago." He pointed out.
"So, what are you saying? What should I do? Why did you even come to me and not Scott? You should be having this conversation with him! I'm not his keeper!" I snapped feeling a little irritated by it all.
Derek didn't bat a lash at my anger, it fueled my anger more. "Because he actually believe he doesn't need my help, talk to him." He ordered, he turned the key in the ignition and turned on the engine.
I sat back in the seat as he pulled off. "Scott can be pretty hardheaded when he wants to be and he's not even sure if he can trust you, problem number uno."
"Do you think you can trust me?"
I blinked turning him but he kept his face forward. "If my grandmother can trust you, I don't see why not but that doesn't mean I'll just take your word for it whenever you tell me something, I know better than to just give trust out, I'll take what you give with a grain of salt."
He grunted before stopping the car, I glanced out the window and saw were in front of the school's parking lot. "Get out." He ordered, he didn't sound angry just giving a simple order.
I scoffed getting out of the car and slung my backpack over my shoulder before closing the door. As I walked away, I could feel Derek's eyes burning holes in my back. I sighed shaking my head; things are getting more complicated by the second.
Not only do I have to worry about Scott going insane, Stiles doing something stupid, Derek's back and now the hunters are on his tail which means they're on Scott's tail, I doubt Derek is going to take all the heat that we brought onto him. I'm willing to bet if he goes down, he'll take Scott with him.
I walked through the corridors in time to see Allison walking down the hall. "Allison!" I called catching up with her, she turned to look at me and smiled. "Hey." I greeted stopping next to her.
She brushed a lock of her behind her ear while holding her books to her chest. "Hey, that was a good game on Saturday, huh?" she asked.
I gave a tight smile. "Yup, other team didn't know what hit'em."
"How was the rest of your weekend?"
I shook my head. "Well I cancelled my date because I had some things to do with my grandma so everything was pretty uneventful." It wasn't exactly a lie, I mean practicing magic was fun and all but it still wasn't something I could brag about.
Allison chuckled. "Yeah, mine was pretty much the same, just me and Lydia hanging out in my room while she picked my closet apart."
I snorted as we turned a corner and descended some stairs. "Trust me, she's done it to me also, I'm thinking about getting a lock placed on my closet if I wasn't sure she'd figure out the combo, little Einstein." I muttered the last part. I didn't spend all of my life being friends with Lydia and not know who she is, she could fool everyone else with that mask but not me. "Plus the lock never did anything to me so I wouldn't let it face the fury of Lydia."
Allison and I shared a laugh as we walked around the corner, I jumped when Allison bumped into someone and, startled, dropped her books. I bent down and grabbed them but when I stood I saw it was Scott standing there. Allison laughed. "You scared the hell out of me." She said.
I couldn't help but notice the large amount of relief on Scott's face. "You're okay." He breathed out, his voice matched his face.
I handed Allison her things. "Here ya are." I blinked when Scott's eyes flashed over to me, they changed from relief to…something I'm not sure I'm comfortable with. I frowned taking a step away from Allison but his eyes didn't shift from me. "Okay," I drew out the word a little uncomfortable. "I think I'll go find Stiles." I muttered walking past them.
I walked around the corner and was surprised to see Jackson standing there with a broken locker door in hand. I blinked moving over to him. "What the hell happened?" I asked as he tried to force it back into place.
"I'm not sure, it was like this when I got here." He told me grunting, and then something caught his attention over my shoulder. I turned and saw Scott standing there with a look of guilt on his face, he did it. "What are you looking at asswipe?" Jackson demanded.
I walked over to Scott and grabbed him by the arm dragging him away; he didn't fight me so I pulled him under the staircase and turned to him. "You know, I get that you're having trouble controlling your emotions, I'm sure that comes with being a new werewolf or werewolf period, but you really need to pick your times when you decide to go crazy." I warned.
He crossed his arms over his chest. "It's not like I intentionally tried to-to do that." He waved his hand towards Jackson for emphasis. "I was just worried about Allison because-"
"Because everything is out to hurt Allison?" I asked sarcastically, I tried not to but it slipped out and I wasn't going to stop. "Wake up, Scott, no one's after her, they're after you."
"It's not that."
"Then what is it?"
"I-I think I killed someone."
I swallowed the saliva in my mouth and tensed. "What?" I asked dumbly.
Scott grabbed his hair frustrated. "I had this dream, it was so real, I-I took Allison into a bus and then I lost control," That's why he was so relieved when he saw her, "and when I woke up this morning and came here, the bus had claw marks, blood, the chairs were thrown…"
"Ergo, your dream." I finished bluntly. "Except it wasn't Allison, this time."
Scott's head snapped up to me. "This time?" he repeated. "Do you think I'm going to hurt her next time?"
I wanted to placate him but if what he was saying is true and he hurt someone, he needed to hear what he wouldn't from Stiles. "Yes." I admitted, he turned away from me and leaned his forehead against the wall. "I think you need to stay away from Allison."
"You sound like Stiles."
"And he's right!" I snapped grabbing his shoulder and spinning him to face me; he looked so vulnerable right now. "Scott, you think you hurt someone, you believe that you hurt someone, you almost hurt Stiles and I, you hurt Jackson…could you really live with yourself if Allison got hurt because you couldn't stay away from her for more than four seconds?" I asked.
Scott shook his head. "I can't."
"Can't what?"
"Stay away from her."
I grunted. "You need to Scott."
"No!"
"Scott-"
"No, shut up!" his voice was growing ragged like he was about to lose control but my anger was flaring inside of me.
"Damn it, Scott, what's it going to take to see that you're dangerous? Killing her?" Before I could flinch, a steel grip locked around the front of my neck and my back was pressed against the wall. Yellow eyes stared down at me angrily. I felt something prick my neck and gulped audibly. "Scott, let me go!" I croaked.
He didn't say anything, only tightened his grip. I gasped before narrowing my eyes at him; I focused on his blood vessels, ignoring what my grandma said. I watched as he used his free hand and brought it up to his head grunting, I didn't stop the spell, not even when he dropped to his knees in front of me and lost his grip on my neck.
I pushed myself from the wall and ran around him; I dropped the spell once I was far enough away. I didn't feel tired and I wasn't bleeding but now wasn't the time to celebrate; my best friend had just tried to choke me.
I ran around the corner but came to such an abrupt stop that I almost fell. Lydia stood in front of me with a pissed off look on her face. "Okay," she began giving me a tight smile. "I drive to your house to pick you up only for you not to be there and then ignoring all five of my calls."
I blinked confused until I remembered, I bit my lip. "Sorry, Lyds, I had gotten a ride from…a friend." That word tasted bitter because Derek was anything but a friend, I didn't know what he was. I glanced behind me before turning back to her. "Let's get to class." I suggested.
She crossed her arms over her ample chest and huffed. "I think not, not until you tell me what happened and why you keep looking over your shoulder like the Feds are watching."
I groaned. "Lydia, please drop it." She only gave me a stubborn look. "Alright, if you drop this, I'll do anything you want to do for the next two weeks." I wagered.
She titled her head contemplating. "Even if it's going into a lingerie store?" she asked.
I flinched but nodded. "Yeah, sure."
"Good, let's go." She said intertwining her arm with mine and dragging me down the hall. As we passed, I saw Scott standing there; he looked normal and had a guilty look on his face. I turned my head avoid his gaze. "Did someone choke you?"
I turned to her with a raised brow and she tapped my neck. My mind flashed back to Scott when he grabbed my neck and pinned me to the wall. I cringed. "Uh, Scott and I were playing around too rough." I lied through my teeth.
She shook her head but didn't say anymore as we walked into the Chemistry class. She untwined our arms as she moved to sit next to Jackson; I took my normal seat next to Stiles. I glanced up and saw Scott walk in, his eyes immediately landed on me but he didn't approach me.
Was I afraid of Scott? I wondered before shaking my head, no I wasn't. I groaned dropping my head onto the desk, I probably shouldn't have pushed him but I was becoming so frustrated with the situation. I felt something poke my shoulder. "You okay?" I heard Stiles ask.
I lifted my head and turned to him. "Yeah." I said, discreetly pulling the hood of my jacket up so that he wouldn't see the handprint on my neck.
He nodded. "Good, we were just walking about what happened on the school bus." He muttered gesturing to where Scott was sitting, right in front of Stiles and diagonal from me.
"Go ahead, I'm listening."
I glanced at Scott and saw his eyes weren't on my face but my neck. I quickly zipped up my jacket all the way and sent him a pointed look. He turned to Stiles. "Maybe it was my blood on the bus."
Stiles shrugged his shoulders. "It could have been animal blood." Or it could be the blood of whoever was attacked but I wasn't going to antagonize Scott, I wasn't that kind of person. "Maybe you caught a rabbit or something." I snorted and let out a short chuckle.
"And did what?" Scott asked indignant.
"Ate it?" Stiles guessed, he was killing me.
"Raw?" Scott asked disgusted.
"No you stuffed it full of bacon in a little werewolf oven, I don't know if you can't remember anything."
Our chemistry teacher turned away from the board. "Mr. Stilinski, if that's your idea of a hushed whisper you might want to pull the headphones out every once in a while." Stiles let out a short humorless chuckle. "I think you and Mr. McCall would do better with a little distance."
I almost sneered at him, out of all the people talking in the class why signal these two out? I stood in my seat. "I can't agree more." I said, Stiles and Scott shot me looks. I smirked. "Stiles, switch seats with me, that'll teach you a lesson." I said in a mock stern voice.
That got a couple chuckles from the students in the room as Stiles and I traded seats, he sent me an appreciative glance and I shrugged my shoulders turning back to the teacher, who narrowed his eyes at me. "I don't appreciate smart talk, Mr. Mellal." His tone warning.
I clocked my head to the side. "That's good because no smart talk comes out of this class unless it's my girl Lydia the one doing the talking." I countered, more laughing sounded through the class and his face became slightly red.
"Hey, I think they found something." Beth, some girl who Lydia likes to hang around sometimes, called out. I, along with everyone, moved over to the windows, I stood next to Scott. We all watched as the ambulance pushed a gurney with a man on top, towards their truck.
Scott glanced at Stiles. "That's not a rabbit." He pointed out.
I was about to say something when the man jumped up from the gurney screaming. I jumped back gasping along with everyone as the ambulances pinned and trapped him to the gurney while he struggled. I noticed Scott move away from the window looking terrified, Stiles moved over to him. "It's okay, this is okay, he got up meaning he's not dead."
"No, it just means that he was attacked and will probably be mentally scarred for the rest of his life." I said moving over to them; Stiles shot me a look that clearly said you're not helping.
Scott shook his head before turning around and walking out of the class. Stiles glared at me. "What did you say that for?" he asked.
I turned to him. "What do you mean? If he did this, he needs to know and you need to stop brushing it under the rug like it's okay, that man out there isn't okay!" I snapped.
"He didn't mean to do it! He didn't have any control."
"He didn't mean to do a lot of things." I muttered, the mark of my neck seemed heavy as I thought about it.
Stiles scratched the back of his head. "What do we do?" he asked.
I thought about it. "Okay, we don't know if he really did this or not, he only thought it was a dream, I may just be able to do something."
"Like what?" he asked.
I shook my head. "I'll tell you later." For now I needed to get my head out of the dumps and focus back on Scott.
(Cafeteria)
I followed behind Scott with Stiles as we walked through the cafeteria with trays in our hands. Stiles leaned close to Scott. "They were dreams, not memories." He said.
I sat at the lunch table with Scott and Stiles, though normally I'd be sitting with Lydia and Jackson, felt like they needed me to help them with this. I sat next to Scott. Scott glanced over at me and then Stiles. "It wasn't a dream okay, something weird happened last night." Scott insisted.
"Yeah, attacking someone isn't exactly weird, Scott." I added taking a bite into the pizza, ignoring the sharp look from Stiles. I swallowed the pizza and raised a brow challengingly.
Stiles turned to Scott. "What makes you think Derek has all the answers?" he asked disdainfully, he really didn't like Derek or was too scared of him.
"Because he was in complete control under the moon, while I was running around in the middle of the night attacking some innocent guy."
"You don't exactly have to be a werewolf expert to know that Derek obviously has been a werewolf for a while and has experience." I turned to Scott. "I think it's a good idea that you talk to him, I just think you should take me with you.
Scott sighed shaking his head. "I can't go out with Allison, I have to cancel." Finally!
"You're not cancelling." What? "Alright, you can't just cancel your entire life because of this."
I pushed his shoulder. "You mean he can't cancel it until someone else ends up hurt because he didn't focus on getting control but focused on getting some?" I asked.
Stiles shrugged. "I'm just saying, maybe he'll be less likely to attack someone in front of large crowd, he did well at the game last Saturday." I guess he had a point. "We'll figure something out."
I jumped when a tray landed next to me; we all turned and saw Lydia sitting there with a polite smile on her face. "Figure out what?" she asked sitting next to me.
I saw the confused and lost face of both my friends before turning back to Lydia. "Uh, Lyds…" I trailed off. I saw more of Lydia's friends, my friends by association I guess, move around the table.
Stiles leaned forward towards me. "Why is she sitting with us?" he demanded nervously.
I shot him a glare. "I have no idea how this chick's mind works!" I hissed back.
I saw Allison move and sit on the other side of Scott but my attention was quickly caught my Danny who sat across from me and next to Stiles. I pretty much ignored everyone after that but I did notice Stiles looked nervous between Danny and Angel, a girl I actually was friends with.
I gave a small smile. "Hey, Danny." I greeted, we haven't talked since I cancelled our date for the after-scrimmage party.
He looked up at me and gave me a smirk that made my face heat up. "Hey." He greeted huskily, I could smell his Armani cologne, I tried to fight off the smile that stretched across my face but it did nothing. Hell, Danny was my first crush; he made my pulse speed up.
"Hey." I said again, Lydia smacked my arm and gave me a look that said stop talking stupid. I nodded my head before exhaling. I glanced at Stiles and saw him giving me mocking faces. I narrowed my eyes and was tempted to repeat to him what I did to Scott but decided against it.
Jackson came up to the end of the table where some other guy was sitting. "Leave." He ordered.
The guy looked upset, I'm sure because he couldn't sit next to Lydia. "Why doesn't Danny have to get up?" he whined.
Danny smirked. "Because, I don't look at his girlfriend's coin slot." He said before turning to me. "I do have a good eye for curry, though." He flirted, he was referring to my Indian roots, something I mentioned when we hung out once.
I chuckled nervously, I'm sure my face was completely red now. "Oh, wow." I muttered staring into a pair of smug brown eyes; he knew exactly what he was doing. Why did I cancel the date again? I licked my dry lips and saw his attention was immediately drawn to them.
He winked at me as the guy moved and Jackson sat in his seat. "So, I hear they said something about an animal attack." He said. "Probably a cougar." He guessed.
Jackson leaned back casually. "I heard mountain lion."
"A cougar is a mountain lion." I heard Lydia point out and turned to her, she had attracted Jackson's attention. "Isn't it?" she asked playing it off.
Jackson raised a brow. "Who cares? The guy's probably some homeless tweaker that's going to die anyways."
I narrowed my eyes at him and then turned to Lydia, I leaned down. "You better be careful, your mask is slipping again." I warned before shooting Jackson a dark look. I hate when she does this, I still don't understand why. Beauty and brains takes someone a long way. "And she's right a cougar is a mountain lion but I heard it was a wolf that attacked the tweaker." I mocked.
"Actually," Stiles intervened gaining all of our attention, he glared at me and I rolled my eyes. "I just found out who it is, check it out." He ordered. I leaned forward as he turned his phone for everyone to see.
Scott gasped. "I know this guy!" he exclaimed.
Angel raised a brow. "You do?" she asked.
"Yeah, when I used to take the bus, back when I lived with my dad." He frowned. "He was the driver."
Lydia groaned as we all sat back. "Can we talk about something more fun please?" she asked. "Like, uh, oh," she turned to Scott and Allison with a glint in her eyes. "Where are we going tomorrow night?" she asked. Allison and Scott both glanced at each other. "You said you and Scott were hanging out tomorrow night, right?" she asked.
Allison glanced at Scott, who was staring at her pleadingly. I'm sure he didn't want to go out with Lydia and Jackson. "Uh, yeah, we were thinking of what we are going to do." I frowned; I knew exactly where this was heading.
"Well," Lydia said. "I am not sitting at home watching lacrosse videos again so if the four of us are hanging out, we're going something fun." She said.
I couldn't help it, I busted into laughter over the looks on Scott's and Allison's faces. "Oh my god!" I clutched my stomach and then leaned over placing my head on Lydia's shoulder trying to calm myself down. After sobering I leaned over to Scott and smirked. "This is definitely pay back for earlier, so you're going to be happy and say yes to it." I ordered. He looked like he wanted to argue, I narrowed my eyes warningly. "Ah-ah!"
Scott turned to Allison, who was nervously drinking through a bottle of water so she had an excuse not to talk. "Do you want to hang out? Like us and them?" He asked trying to get out of it.
I shrugged. "I say you all go bowling." I suggested vindictively, okay after this I would let go of what happened under the staircase. Scott and Stiles shot me a look but I turned to face Jackson. "You like bowling right?"
Jackson frowned. "Yeah but only when I'm bowling with people that give me a challenge, so unless Lydia's dragging you along, I'm not going."
Before I could say anything, Allison leaned forward. "I'll have you know I'm an excellent bowler and will serve you." She warned.
I shot him a look while Jackson snorted. "What about you McCall? Going to let your girl do all the talking for you or do you suck badly at bowling?" At the look in Scott's eyes I knew this was hook line and sinker. Scott lied and told Jackson he was good, I bit my lip to keep myself from laughing.
I cringed when foot tapped my shoe and looked forward, Danny raised a brow. "Well, since its date night, maybe we can reschedule ours." He suggested.
I watched as he lifted the already bitten apple to his mouth before using my power so that it stumbled out of his hand and toward the table. I lashed out catching it in my hand and bit over the spot he already had before shooting him a smirk not caring that my face was probably apple red. "I'd love to but Scott and I have something to do, and then I have to help with my grandmother." Danny grinned as I handed him back his apple, he bit into my spot.
Scott glanced at me and I turned to him as the bell rang signaling for us to leave. "We're going to Derek." I whispered knowing that if Stiles's heard he'd want to come.
(Giselle's Car)
I drove through the streets heading in the direction of Derek's home. Scott had been shaken up after he left the Hospital but he didn't want to talk about what happened, at least he didn't want to talk about it with me. I rolled my eyes. "Do you want to talk about this morning or not?" I asked.
He glanced over at me from the passenger's seat. "Does it hurt?" he asked.
I shook my head. "It doesn't, I'm a little darker than you Scott but my skin shows bruises just as easy, it doesn't hurt." I assured before turning to him. "Are you alright?" I asked.
He scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, what was that you did?" he asked curiously.
I smirked. "Something that's going to keep your ass in line if you step from it again," I faced forward turning a corner. "I guess the meditation I've been doing is helping but I've yet to use a spell since we found the body."
Scott hummed. "I really am sorry, I-I…" he trailed off.
"I accept the sorry, Scott, no need to be sappy and add more." I said hoping he got the hint; I did not want to have any mushy conversations.
He chuckled. "Okay." I was about to turn a corner when a police car raced around and sped away. Scott and I exchanged looks before I drove down the path leading to Derek's home. I parked in the front and turned off the ignition. Scott got out but I stayed in as he looked up at the house. "Derek, I know you can hear me, I need your help."
I unbuckled my seat belt and got out also. I walked toward the door with Scott following after me, we stopped at the door as Derek opened it, standing there in all his leather-clad glory and stepped out closing the door after him.
I frowned looking at the house. "You actually live here." I muttered. "Does this place even have running water?" I asked raising a brow.
Derek's eyed me before taking two steps and suddenly was standing in my personal bubble. "Why? Do I smell to you?" He asked huskily and sarcastic.
I breathed through my nose and wished I didn't, he smelled but it wasn't a bad scent. He smelled like new leather, some cologne and musk. I gulped shaking my head wishing he'd step away from me.
He grunted moving back and turning to Scott, who watched the exchange warily like he was afraid Derek would attack me. I wonder if my power would bring Derek to his knees like it did Scott. "Look, I know I was a part of you getting arrested and basically-"
I nudged his shoulder interrupting him. "I already talked to him this morning about that, skip ahead." I ordered. Derek snorted almost sounding amused but his stare was unwavering and unsettling, I wish he'd smile to cut the tension he was creating.
Scott sighed. "I think I did something last night, I had a dream and someone else got hurt, and it turns out that part if the dream may have happened."
Derek's impassive façade broke. "You think you attacked the bus driver?" he asked, how the hell did he know what Scott was talking about?
"Did you see what I did last night?" Scott asked.
"No."
"Can you tell me the truth, am I going to hurt someone?" he asked.
"Yes." The answer was so blunt that and Scott just accepted it, I was a little jealous that Scott would listen to this jackass and stay cool but when I tried this I got choked.
"Can I kill someone?"
"Yes."
"Am I going to kill someone?"
"Probably." I decided to intervene but when I moved to Scott, Derek pushed me back. "Don't, he needs to hear this." I wanted to argue but then realized I had said those same words. It was different when I was the one who had to tell him these things instead of watching. I nodded my head and stepped back. Derek turned to Scott, who had moved to lean onto a wooden column. "Look, I can show you how to remember." He said. "I can show you how to control the shift, even on a full moon but it's not going to come without a fee."
I blinked while Scott shook his head tiredly. "What do you want?" he asked.
"It'll come eventually." He said. "But for now I'm going to give you what you want, go back to the bus, go inside and see it, feel it, let all your senses remember."
I frowned; this had been my idea so why did I regret bringing him here? He looked so tired and vulnerable. I was wrong. He and I are in two different lines, I was a warlock who had his grandmother to fall back on and Scott had…Derek, even if for a price.
"That's it, just go back?" Scott asked.
"Do you want to know what happened?"
"I just want to know if I hurt someone."
"No you don't," Derek denied. "You want to know if you'll hurt her." Hmm, why did it sound like he understood? I couldn't help but wonder if Derek had been in this position before. Scott stared at him for a moment before walking away.
We watched him go and I was about to follow. "Don't do it." I heard and turned to Derek; he walked and stopped an inch away from me. "I know what you're thinking, you think if you go on that bus and feel around to get a vision and it turns out that Scott did hurt that man you'll be protecting him."
I was shocked because that had been what I was going to do, I what's the point in having my magic if I can't use it to help? I gulped and turned my head. "I don't know what I'm supposed to now." I admitted.
"What do you mean?"
"My grandmother doesn't want me to get involved with Scott's issues but I can't sit back and not do anything, but I'm not her, I don't have the experience or power she has…what am I supposed to do?" I asked.
Derek was silent but he was still staring at me, we were so close we were practically breathing the same air. It was unsettling yet…I didn't step away. "Then get stronger." He said as if it were that simple. "Be the warlock who doesn't need to hide behind his grandma." He was mocking me!
I sneered at him. "I don't hide behind anyone!" I barked at him.
His eyes flickered down and then snorted. "Maybe not but if you had more control over your power you wouldn't have that mark on your neck." I flinched back jerking my hood around my neck to hide it. "If you're going to be running with werewolves, I suppose you train and be serious."
(BHHS)
I climbed out of Stiles's Jeep after he cut off the engine. All three of us walked towards the gate but as Stiles moved to climb it Scott brought him back down. "No, what are you doing?" he asked.
Stiles scoffed. "Climbing a gate, what are you doing?" he asked.
Scott shook his head. "Someone need to stay behind to keep watch." He said.
Stiles turned to me and opened his mouth. "Don't even think about it," I said. "I'm not keeping watch." I wanted to see how this would play out.
Stiles groaned. "Why do I have to be the one to keep watch?" he asked.
"Because I'm the one who needs to go in there and…that's between the two of you." He said, I clocked my head to the side challengingly at Stiles.
Stiles glared at both of us. "Why is this starting to feel like the adventures of Superman," he said gesturing towards me, "Batman," he gestured towards Scott, "and Robin?" he asked.
I shrugged. "I have magical powers, Scott's a werewolf and you're Stiles, need I say more?" I asked teasingly.
Scott shook his head. "There is no Superman, Batman or Robin, just please." He pleaded pointing to the Jeep. Stiles huffed.
I groaned. "Look, I'll stay with you Stiles but Scott needs to be the one to go over and you may not move fast enough if he's caught." Stiles scowled before storming back to his Jeep. I turned to Scott. "You know that there are security guards here, so if one comes and catches you, call me and I'll put him to sleep." I ordered, he needed and I turned running to catch up with Stiles.
I climbed into the passenger's seat while Stiles pouted in the driver's seat. "This so isn't cool." He muttered.
I sighed, I knew I would deal with his bitching but I was hoping I'd get a couple minutes of silence before he went into his rant. "What is?" I asked.
"This, the two of you, you get to have magical powers while Scott is a werewolf, I just-"
I turned to him. "Do you want to be a werewolf?" I asked interrupting.
"Well, no, yes…I don't know." He finished leaning forward and putting his head on the steering wheel.
I reached over placing my hand on his shoulder. "Yeah? What's good in having powers when my grandmother won't teach me anything worthwhile?" I asked him, he shifted and turned his head to me so I continued. "She's so worried about what might happen to me that I know she's holding back information, she even took and hid her grimoire from me but I never told her that my mother gave me her's."
Stiles raised a brow. "This is the suckiest pep talk ever." He commented.
I blinked. "Oh, right but what I'm saying is that I know you feel useless and that you want to help but the best thing you can do for Scott is be there for him, I'm trying not to be judgmental about everything he's going through but it's hard so you need to be there twenty-four seven."
Stiles stared at me, he lifted his head. "I noticed that, is the reason you're acting like that is cause of Allison?" he asked.
I narrowed my eyes not liking where this had turned. "What do you mean?" I asked feigning curious.
Shrugging his shoulders, Stiles turned his body fully towards me. "Maybe you didn't want him to go on this date because it was with Allison."
"Are you trying to ask me if I'm jealous? Of Allison?"
"It doesn't seem like it's out of the realm of possibility." He said nonchalantly.
I blanked out for a moment; did he actually think this was me being jealous of Scott and Allison? Little prick. I reached over hooking the back of my hand behind the back of Stiles head and slammed it into the steering wheel.
Stiles's features twisted in shock and pain as he leaned back up. "W-what the hell did you do that for?" he demanded.
"To make your face hurt!" I spat back. "I can't believe you honestly think I was more worried about my nonexistent feelings for Scott, I wasn't jealous of Allison I was worried because if you hadn't noticed he had no problem pushing us around during his little fit of rage and then he choked me when I brought the situation up to him! What happens when Allison pisses him off because she's talking to some other guy?" I demanded all in one breath, by the time I was finished I noticed Stiles staring at me but not in my face but at my neck.
"Scott…he did that?" he asked, I looked used the rearview mirror to get a good look at the mark for the first time, it was purple and stood out against my olive skin. "What?"
I turned back to Stiles. "Look, we talked about it so don't bring this up to him, but this morning I found him and saw what he did to Jackson's locker, I told him to control it and not go on the date with Allison, he snapped and pinned me to the wall."
Stiles was quiet for a minute still staring at my neck. "Does it hurt?" he asked concerned.
I shook my head. "No, it's just a mark." I lied, it hurt but it was a dull pain.
"Why didn't you tell me about it?"
"Because there was nothing you could do." As soon as those words came from my mouth I wanted to kick myself in the teeth, his usefulness was a sore subject and I just took a jab at it. "That's not what I meant."
Stiles rolled his eyes. "Of course it isn't."
"Stiles, there isn't anything I can do but go to my grandma, please just let it go." I pleaded.
Stiles turned his head away and leaned back in his seat ignoring me until something caught his attention. "Shit! There's someone coming!" he exclaimed pointing through the window.
I turned and saw a flashlight through the darkness, I turned to Stiles and saw he was about to beep the horn. I stopped him by grabbing his wrist. "Don't." I ordered before climbing out of the Jeep and running over to the gate. I stared at the man's silhouette. "Disable corpus motum!" I chanted, I watched as the man dropped the flashlight in his hand and stopped moving. "Hurry!" I hissed, if there was open security guard there were more and right now was the best time to get out.
I saw Scott rush off the bus so I turned and ran to the Jeep, hopping in the front seat. Scott jumped onto a car before flipping over a gate like he had been training in the Olympics before running and jumping into the back. "Go, go, go!" he ordered.
Stiles turned on the engine and doing a complete U-turn before driving off. As he did, Stiles turned to Scott. "Did it work? Did you remember?" he asked.
"Yeah, it did, I was there last night but the blood…none of it was mine."
"So you did attack him?" he asked.
"No!" Scott insisted. "I saw glowing eyes and a claw but they weren't mine, it was Derek."
I rolled my eyes, why did things always have to come back to him? Can we go a day without this asshole? "Are you sure? Because the last time you two geniuses dragged me into something Derek-related it ended up him not killing his sister."
Scott shook his head. "I'm sure of it." I still wasn't convinced but I'd keep that to myself for now.
"What about the driver?" Stiles asked.
"I was actually trying to protect him?"
I raised a brow. "After all the times you lost control and attacked us that's a step up." I said sarcastically. "But tell me why you think Derek would want you to know he killed the driver."
"That's what I don't get."
"It's got to be a pack thing." Stiles guessed.
"What do you mean?" Scott asked confused, I was a little curious also.
"Like an initiation, you two kill together."
"Because ripping someone's throat out is such a bonding experience."
"Yeah, but you didn't do it, which means you're not a killer." Stiles said. "And it also means…"
I frowned glancing between the two, a look a pure happiness passed by Scott's face. "I can go out with Allison."
I exchanged glances with Stiles before he turned to Scott. "I was going to say that it means you won't kill us." He said referring to him and me.
Scott flushed embarrassed. "Oh, that too."
"Oh, that too. God you make me want to hurl you're so whipped for that girl." I mocked. "Take me home before I become sick." I ordered jokingly, we all chuckled a little.
(Food Mart.)
I stood at the counter of some Food Mart and Gas station with a bunch of snacks in my hands, the boy at the counter was one of those skater type boys with shaggy blonde hair and green eyes with alabaster skin. I grabbed all three of my bags before heading out of the Food Mart in time to see Derek standing there surrounded by three other guys, one of which was Allison's father.
I frowned when one moved and smashed Derek's window, were they trying to intimidate him? Then I remembered what Mr. Argent was, a hunter. I frowned; this asshole shot my best friend and was now harassing another asshole. Seemed like poetic justice to me but Derek wasn't fighting back. I decided to intervene once I saw one more to break another window while the other was standing behind Derek. My bus didn't come for another half an hour I had time.
"Mr. Argent." I said moving through the gas stations and in between him and Derek. I felt Derek's eyes on me but I had my eyes on Mr. Argent. "It's funny running into you here." I said in mock surprise.
Mr. Argent glanced over my head at Derek, who I'm sure was glaring at me, if the heavy feeling of someone's eyes on me was anything to go by. "Sam, you shouldn't be out here this late, there's a curfew." He commented.
I gave a short chuckle. "I'm not worried about any animal trying to attack me but from what I'm seeing," I shot a glance toward the guy that broke Derek's window. "It looks like animals aren't the only thing out here I need to worry about, huh?" I turned back to Mr. Argent.
He stared at me long and hard, I wonder if he knew that I knew what Derek was. He opened his mouth to say something when I felt something poke me in my back. "Hey, kid, this isn't any of your business." I turned around to the see the guy with the bat standing there. "Go home." He ordered.
I frowned and then dropped my bags to the floor; I don't like being touched with objects. I narrowed my eyes at him, focusing on his blood vessels before setting them on fire. He grunted dropping the bat; his hands flew up to his hair and tugged on them. He dropped to his knees and then hit his head on the bumper of Derek's car as he fell on his back groaning in pain. "W-what's happening?" he wondered.
"Andrew!" Mr. Argent exclaimed, I glanced over at him and then at Derek, who shook his head.
I sighed dropping the attack and turned to Mr. Argent as he rushed over to his friend. "Is he alright?" I asked almost sarcastically.
Mr. Argent looked up at me with realization flashing through his eyes, uh-oh, he knew what I was. I grabbed my bags from the ground before a hand wrapped around my wrist dragging me toward Derek's car. Derek shoved me into the passenger's seat and then got into the driver's seat.
Mr. Argent and his friend was too busy worrying about the guy I just dropped to care about us driving off. It was silent for a moment, an uneasy one. I felt like a child who had done something he shouldn't have. "So, uh, you and Mr. Argent have history?" I asked, I hadn't missed the looks they had been shooting each other.
Derek breathed through his nose before reaching over and turning on the radio, I was pleasantly surprised when Crooked Smile by J. Cole started playing. I raised a brow. "Didn't take you for someone who liked rap, Derek." I commented.
"Only when it means something, not most of the garbage that these people spew from their mouths."
I gasped mockingly. "Look at that, it actually said something." I leaned forward smirking. "Do it again."
"Are you always this annoying?" he asked not taking his eyes off of the road.
"Only when it irritates others and entertains me." I saw the ends of Derek's lips tilt up and then back down. I blinked. "Oh gosh, did thee Derek Hale almost smile because the one and only Samuel Mellal said something clever? Take a picture of this epic achievement by me everyone, this may never happen again." I said as if we were surrounded by a crowd, I wish we were.
Derek snorted. "Keep talking and it never will, because I'll rip your throat out…with my teeth." He threatened.
"Kinky." I muttered, I knew when to stop but Derek was becoming less and less scary to me every time I met him. "So," I continued ignoring his groan of irritation, "where are you taking me?" I asked, this wasn't the direction of my house or Derek's home.
"I need you to do something for me." He said.
I blinked. "You mean something magical?" I asked, he nodded. "Okay, but do me a favor." I grinned when his lips fell into a deep frown. "Actually, seeing as I saved your ass from Mr. Argent, two favors."
His head snapped in my direction. "Don't push your luck." He warned.
Frowning, I crossed my arms over my chest. "No, I think I will because you need me more than I need you and if I really wanted to, I could have you on the ground begging for me to stop." I didn't really know that, Derek was stronger than the last two people I used the power on. "So, two favors."
Derek faced forward again looking pissed. "What?" he asked through clenched teeth.
What's the most impossible thing for Derek to do? Bingo. "I want you to smile for me." Derek jerked the car to an abrupt stop, luckily I was wearing a seatbelt or I'd be sporting a bruise on my forehead.
He bared his growing fangs at me and his eyes began to glow an electrifying blue. "Stop kidding around!" he snapped.
I shrugged my shoulder. "If you do this one thing for me, I'll hold off on the other favor for another time." I wagered reaching into my pocket and wrapped my hands around my phone, ready to take a picture if he did smile.
I watched as he contemplated my words and for a moment I didn't think he'd do it. I let out a sigh, feigning disappointment, but then a pair of fingers wrapped under my chin and forced me to turn back to him.
I felt butterflies in my stomach and my heart slam against my chest as Derek's lips stretched out into a plain smile that showed a hint of his teeth. It didn't reach his eyes but that wasn't needed. I gulped audibly not taking my eyes from his smiling lips.
I felt my cheeks warm up and snatched my chin from his grip to turn away, there was no way I'd ever let Derek see me blush…more than he already had. I blinked when the car started and we were driving again, damn it! I turned back to Derek; his face was impassive once again. I pouted. "Shit." I muttered.
I heard him snort and peeked over at him. "You were going to take a picture?" he guessed.
"Do you know how long the world has waited to see you smile, Derek?" I asked before smiling sardonically. "Since the stone ages." I teased. "I just wanted to capture the moment in a timeless photo."
Snorting, Derek turned up the music. "I'm actually hoping I die before you get to the next favor." He said.
I laughed. "Aww, come on, Derek, it won't be that bad though I'm sure you won't like it." He scowled before turning sharply. I frowned when I saw we were at Beacon Hills Hospital. "Uh, why are we here?" I asked.
He parked a little away from the entrance before climbing out, ignoring me. I huffed before unbuckling myself and jumped up after him. "Derek!" I hissed following him through the entrance, luckily Scott's mom wasn't working tonight or I'd have to answer questions on why I was with the guy I placed in jail.
Derek grabbed me by my wrist and dragged me through the hospital to an area where injured patients were; he opened some curtains and shoved me in before closing them after us. "Okay," I muttered staring down at him, I didn't remember his name but I do know he was the bus driver Scott was talking about. "Why are we here?" I asked.
He walked around and stood at the left of the bed. "The alpha attacked him for some reason and I want to know why." He looked up at me. "You're here to help."
I frowned. "Scott and Stiles think you did this to him." I admitted.
Derek shook his head. "And you think I did also?" he asked.
I hesitated, do I think that? I shook my head. "No, there's no rhyme or reason to this, and you seem like your M.O. is to lay low, why kill someone when the hunters know you're here?" I asked.
Derek looked up at me with satisfaction and approval; it made my heart flutter for some reason. "You got a brain and know how to use it, good."
"Hale." We both heard and turned to the old man; he was peering up at Derek through squinted eyes. "I'm sorry." He wheezed out.
Derek frowned. "How do you know my family?" he asked. The old man only repeated his last statement. Derek looked up at me. "Do you know a way to find out?" he asked.
I studied the man for a moment before turning to Derek. "I do." I revealed. "But before I do it, that second favor comes after it." I said. Derek raised a brow. "I want to know what connection my grandmother has to you and your family."
Derek frowned almost looking as if he wanted to argue something, I sent a pointed look towards the old man and he sighed, nodding. "Alright, after."
I moved forward. "Normally for this spell I need water but I tweaked it a little so that I can do it dry." The spell used water as a way to sooth the mind and clears a way but I didn't have water and we didn't have time. I placed both pair of my index and middle fingers over his temples. "Somno." I chanted and watched as his eyes fluttered closed.
I felt warmth in my hands letting me know that my magic was working; it was a telepathy type of thing. The spell only put the person in a deep sleep and as long as I had physical connection there was a mental one, where I could ask him questions inside his head. It was almost like hypnosis. It was an easy spell but if it he was awake and stronger I'm sure this wouldn't work so well. I closed my eyes. "What's your name?" I asked as a way to test it.
"Garrison Myers." He thought back, I almost jumped back startled but held my composure.
"Alright, what is your connection to the Hale Family?" I demanded.
"I was the insurance investigator for the fire that happened; I ruled it as an accident."
"Was it?"
"No, it was premeditated." I frowned why did it seem like his voice was getting further away?
"By who?" I asked, I pressed but he didn't answer. I poured more magic into the connection and demanded an answer again.
"…Argent…" was all I heard before the line went dead.
I pulled my hands away and broke the connection to the spell looking at the heart monitor…I had done that? I glanced up at Derek and saw him staring down at the man surprised before he looked up at me. Yes, I pushed a weak person with my powers and killed him. I felt my hands shaking and my vision began to blur. "Derek…I…" I croaked out.
His eyes widened but not because of me, I saw him rush over to me and grabbed me pulling me to him, I was a little uncomfortable with being comforted by him but I realized that wasn't his intentions. He lifted me from the ground so that my feet were dangling, my face buried in his coat so I couldn't see anything.
When he allowed my feet to touched the ground I almost wish he hadn't because I swayed and almost fell over. He clapped a hand down onto my shoulder keeping me grounded. "Calm down." He ordered.
I glanced around, my vision still blurry with tears. We were standing next to his car. I spun back to him. "Calm down? How can I calm down?" I spat out angrily. "I just killed someone because of you!" I threw out.
Derek didn't flinch from my accusation, he almost looks like he didn't care. "He was injured from the attack, he wasn't going to survive anyways."
I shook my head. "You don't know that." I denied.
"Don't I?" I eyed him and he did the same. "I knew that they wouldn't be able to save him, not even I could heal fast enough after battling with an alpha, their attacks are stronger." He explained. "You didn't kill him." I wanted to argue that I felt like I did but I didn't, I did what I always do when something bad happens to me. I lock it away in the back of my mind, I did it after the accident when I was eleven, I did it after he drunkenly attacked me and I did it after I lost my maternal grandfather.
I breathed deeply and wiped away the tears that had escaped. "Alright." I killed that man and I'd never forget it, nothing Derek could say would make me forget it.
He sighed relieved, probably because I didn't have a mental break down, after all the things that happened in my life, I wouldn't break now. "Did you find anything out?" he asked.
I blinked before I remembered, this guy committed fraud after eight people were killed in an arson and claimed it was accidental. Was it bad that I caused his death after he'd done that? I wasn't sure. I shook my head and looked up at Derek. "He was the insurance investigator for the arson of your family." I watched as he tensed. "He lied and claimed that it was accidental."
"It wasn't." Derek muttered, his green eyes flashed angrily. "Did he tell you who did it?" he asked.
"He only said their last name and it was Argent." Derek's eyes seemed to deflate for a moment before they glowed blue. This is the closest I've seen Derek look like he wanted to lose control. I moved closer to him and cringed when he growled at me but I didn't stop. I placed a hand on his shoulder. "Don't lose it now Derek, he didn't say Argents plural but Argent singular meaning it was only one of them, don't take your revenge out on the entire family."
Derek breathed heavily before nodding and letting his eyes fade back into green. "Alright." He whispered. I felt bad for him, having just seen a possible suspect in your family's murder, Chris Argent, I'm sure he wished he had killed him.
I shook my head free of death as we climbed into his car and he drove off. I glanced at him. "What are you going to do?" I asked.
Derek breathed stressed. "First, figure out why the alpha attacked Myers and who else he may attack but I have a common denominator, it should lead me to the alpha is." He said.
I nodded. "Alright, but you know if you need help you can call me and I will come." Derek glanced over and raised a brow. I grinned weakly. "I don't need you getting killed just yet, you entertain me." Those words sounded like a lie.
Derek huffed facing forward and it was silent for a couple minutes. "Thank you."
I looked at him in awe but he ignored me. I felt my lips grow into a genuine smile. "You're welcome, but don't think I forgot about our deal." I added.
"I won't but not today, you should get home and go to sleep." If I didn't know any better I'd think he was worried about me…but I did know better.
I nodded as he drove me back to my house. Why do I feel like things are going to get worse from here on out? I needed to know something. I turned to Derek. "Can you do me something?" I asked.
"I said not yet."
"Don't hurt Scott." I said, Derek turned to me but I didn't say anything else. He didn't respond as he turned to face forward. I hope he would listen to me.
(End)
