AN: BREAKING NEWS: I'm still an absolute idiot who doesn't save my BLOODY DOCUMENT often enough, so that's one of the reason this chapter took so long to come out. And also holidays and shit.
I want to say thanks to everyone who's followed, favourited or reviewed Sleeping Wolves. Seriously, you guys are the bethst 2
Also, I'm sorry for the lame title … or even lamer than they normally are (the buzz one is … not good). My brain is still in holiday mode and I wanted to get this thing out.
… … … … …
Chapter 7: Badgered to Beth
Grunting in annoyance, Beth grabbed her alarm clock and contemplated hurling it out of the still open window. She'd woken up disoriented and cold, still wearing clothes from the day before. She sat the alarm clock back on the desk and sat down in her chair, pressing her palms against her eyes. On one hand, all she really wanted was to crawl under the covers and get a proper sleep but her curiosity was all but kicking her out the door in haste to get to school. She needed to have a little chat with Scott and Stiles. But, God, she was so tired.
Sleep had been blissfully void of dreams as always, but as soon as she woke, she remembered what happened the night before.
When she got downstairs, everyone was already sitting at the table.
"Morning," she mumbled and grabbed a cup of coffee already waiting for her.
"Good morning, Beth," Louie said loudly, throwing out his arms in an exaggerated way. "You're looking fresh-faced and all set for today."
Beth made an unidentifiable sound and concentrated on pouring yoghurt into a bowl without spilling everywhere.
Jaime looked up from the orange he was peeling. "When did you go to bed?"
"Yeah, you look more tired than usual," Chloe said from across the table.
Beth drizzled some homemade muesli over her yoghurt. "I'm a teenager. We're tired, it's what we do."
Chloe pointed at her with a spoon full of yoghurt. Some of it dripped on the table. "Why were you running around last night? You weren't exactly being quiet."
Beth paused with the spoon halfway to her mouth. If she told on Stiles and Scott they could be in real trouble and there'd be no way they'd tell her what they were up to. No, she'd better wait and talk to them first.
"I-I had to get the-uh, some batteries. For my alarm clock. It was almost dead." She smiled proudly at her lie.
"And that needed running?"
"I had a lot of pent up energy. So, Louie, you working on any interesting stories right now?" She turned and gave him a hopeful look.
He winced and shook his head. "Still so, so bad at changing the subject. But to answer your question, yes, I am working on something right now. I assume you've heard about the incident at the school involving a bus?"
"I may have heard it mentioned once or twice yesterday," Chloe said around a mouthful of food.
"I can't believe you're 17 years old and you still talk with your mouth full." Louie shook his head. "I should have a word with whoever raised you."
"Can you tell us anything new about it?" Beth said.
Louie gave this some thought before he relented. "The police found animal hair at the scene, although they won't reveal what kind yet. The sheriff is keeping the cards close to his chest on this one."
Beth played absentmindedly with her yoghurt. "Didn't they find animal hair on the dead girl too?"
Louie nodded. "Stands to reason that they're connected. Somehow."
Putting down the now peeled orange, Jaime folded his hands on the table and looked at them. "There is a police mandated curfew at 9:30, which I expect the both of you to adhere to. This happened just across the road from us, so please be careful. Understood?" He looked from Beth to Chloe with his mild gaze.
"Sure thing, Jaime," Chloe said. "I didn't have plans anyway."
"Me neither. Although, if Lydia asks we're having a family night."
Chloe snorted. "Why does she think that?"
"You don't wanna know."
"Oh, I'm sure I really, really do."
Jaime waved a hand, breaking them up. "That is not a bad idea, actually. It's been some time since we've had some family bonding."
"We used to do that all the time when you two were younger, do you remember that?" Said Louie and looked at Jaime. "When Beth visited in the summer."
"I do remember," Chloe said thoughtfully. "You always let us pick the movies."
Louie snorted. "In hindsight, that wasn't the greatest idea. If I have to see Crossroads one more time, I might throw myself to whatever animal is running around."
"Don't say that," Jaime said with a small frown.
"Sorry, babe." Louie reached out and squeezed his hand. "What I'm trying to say is that I'm glad you two have a better taste in movies now."
"I dunno, I could go for some early 2000 Britney Spears," Beth said.
With a dramatic gasp, Louie clutched his chest. "No!"
Jaime shook his head at his husband's antics. "Is there any actual suggestions for a movie?"
"Cujo?" Chloe said.
"The Birds."
"Razorback."
"Slugs."
"Slugs?"
"We have to see it," Louie said. "It's nothing short of a masterpiece."
Jaime pinched the bridge of his nose. "May I remind you," he said stonily, "that a man is in the hospital."
That shut them up. Beth had forgotten, once again, that there was an actual human life hanging in the balance.
They chatted for a bit before Beth left to get ready for school. She wanted to get there early so she could have a chance at catching Scott and Stiles before class.
Shoving her half-finished maths homework in her bag, she tried forming a plan of attack. Scott and Stiles had proven to be skittish and reluctant to tell the truth so getting any information from then would be like pulling teeth.
Walking across the car park, she spied a blue Jeep pulling up to a parking space. "Um … Chloe, I have some, uh, stuff I have to talk about. With Stiles, I mean." She nodded towards the Jeep.
"I didn't know you hung out with Stiles," Chloe said, not bothering to look where Beth had indicated.
"I don't really. I just have questions … about chemistry."
Chloe already started walking towards the school again. "Alright. I'll see you later." She called over her shoulder.
This was the perfect time to talk to Stiles. He stood alone beside his car, rummaging in his backpack with his back towards her. He didn't notice her when she sidled up beside him. "Good morning, Stiles," she said cheerfully.
Stiles yelped and dropped his backpack on the ground. Whirling around, he stared at her. "Jesus! Y-you don't just sneak up on people like that!"
Beth leaned back from the force of his reaction. "Actually, my name's Beth." She forced her hands down the small pockets in her leather jacket and smiled.
Rubbing his heart, Stiles bent down and snatched up his backpack. "Well, good morning to you too, I guess," he mumbled.
"Ready for the day?"
"I … guess?" He looked at her with narrowed eyes.
"Not tired at all?" Her smile widened.
Stiles stared at her a couple of seconds before he replied. "No?"
"Just me then. Shall we?" She gestured at the school. He nodded, still looking suspicious. Together they walked towards the entrance.
Beth stretched her arms over her head and yawned exaggeratedly. Stiles stared at her from the corner of his eyes. When he didn't say anything, she yawned again a little louder. "I was up late, doing schoolwork and whatnot."
Stiles bobbed his head up and down.
"It was strange. I looked out the window when it was pretty late. Around 11-ish."
"I … right." Stiles rubbed the back of his head awkwardly.
"I saw outside and there was a car." They reached the entrance to the school, and Beth held open the door for him. He was still not getting it. "By the way, did you know that I live right across from the school?"
The change in Stiles was instant. He froze in the middle of the doorway, causing a pileup behind him. "Move it, Stilinski," a guy in a frumpy pullover grunted and shoved past him.
"N-no," Stiles whispered, not noticing the dirty looks he got from the students who had to squeeze past him.
"Uh-huh. I have a fabulous view of the school from my room. I can see everyone who comes and goes, at all hours of the day." She beamed at him.
Stiles finally moved from the door, to quickly walk down the hall. Beth hastened after him. "That's nice, Beth," he said, looking straight ahead, hands gripping the straps on his backpack so hard his knuckles turned white.
"I sure think so."
"So, uh, I have to go. There's some uh, stuff I gotta do before class." He quickened his pace, and Beth almost had to run to catch up.
"Wait, don't you want to hear about the car?" She asked innocently.
"I-I'm kinda busy, so-"
"It was blue, kind of like your car." She could see the tension in Stiles' shoulders. "And it was a Jeep too. What a coincidence." She barrelled on.
Suddenly, Stiles stopped, and Beth walked a few feet ahead of him before she noticed. "That's-that's a lot of details. Didn't you say it was in the middle of the night?" He nervously flapped his hands.
"They have these fancy new things called binoculars and they're pretty handy when you have to see something that's far away. Besides, whoever drove the car parked in the very well lit car park. What kind of idiot does that?"
Stiles opened his mouth but nothing came out. Beth smiled encouragingly. "You know," he began but faltered. "It's, uh … there's a really good …" trailing off, he mouthed something to himself.
"I'm waiting,"
"There's-the … I'm not the only one with a blue Jeep, you know. There's probably, I don't know, thousands out there." He wildly swung out his arm. "Millions, even."
Beth rolled her eyes. "C'mon, Stiles! I saw you! And Scott, too.
Stiles vigorously shook his head. "N-no you didn't. I was at home, and-and so was Scott!
"Your home or his?"
"Wha- his home, of course." Stiles crossed his arms and leaned back on his heels.
"Can anyone verify that?"
"Oh, come on!" Stiles rolled his eyes so hard his whole body followed. "Are you even listening to yourself? You said it was night, right? So you were probably just dreaming or something."
Beth shook her head so hard her curls bounced wildly. "I don't dream."
Stiles tipped his head, momentarily forgetting he was being interrogated. "Everybody dreams. It's, like, the number one thing that everybody does."
Shrugging, she said, "I don't. So you can cross that off the list of excuses." She raised an eyebrow at him.
He huffed indignantly and drew himself up to his full height, which was only a couple of inches taller than Beth and that was made up by Beth's gravity defying curls. "I don't-that's not an excuse!"
"It sounds like one," Beth sang.
Stiles ran a hand down his face. "You know what, Beth? I don't care what you think, I really don't." His tone of voice suggested that he actually did. "Just, leave me alone, okay?" He started walking down the hall again, eyes searching for a way to get out of the situation.
Beth followed him. "I will when you tell me what you and Scott were doing at the school at 11 in the night."
Stiles turned sharply to the right and bolted into the only place Beth couldn't follow him: the boys bathroom.
"Stiles!" She yelled. "You can't hide in there forever!" She hit the door once for good measure. A whispering made her look to the left at a gaggle of girls, all who were staring at her. "He has my chemistry notes," she said flatly and flounced down the hall. She'd see him in English anyway unless he'd crawled out the window and mitched.
When she got to class, Stiles and Scott hadn't shown up yet. Allison was sitting by her desk, texting on her phone.
"Hey, Allison," Beth said and sat down on the edge of the desk. "Do you think we can switch seats, just today, I promise."
The other girl furrowed her brows in confusion. "Um, sure. But why?" She gathered her books and stood up.
"No reason, really. I just wanted to get some …" she looked around the room. "Space. From being in the front of the class."
Allison pointedly looked at Beth's former desk. It was hardly in the first row. "Alright," she sighed, throwing her books on the desk. "Enjoy the cheap seats."
Just before the last bell rang, Stiles entered the classroom closely followed by Scott. She suspected they'd waited until the last second so she didn't have a chance to bombard them with questions.
When they saw her, both boys froze. Scott leaned close and whispered something in Stiles' ear and they slowly moved toward their seats.
"All right?" she said cheerfully as they came near. The boys in question shared a look and sat down. She immediately turned her attention to Stiles. She'd already worked on wearing him down and she suspected he was much more entertaining to pester than Scott was.
Stiles stared intently down at his book when Beth leaned over the aisle. "Hey, Stiles," she whispered, keeping a watchful eye on the teacher, who stood with his back to the class. "Are you ready to continue our chat?"
Tap tap tap tap tap. Stiles was covering his notes black with small black dots from his pen he was furiously tapping on the paper. "There was no chat at all, you were hurtling accusations left and right, which were totally unfounded by the way."
"I. Saw. You." She drew back when the teacher turned around, looking over the class with his beady eyes. When his attention was diverted, Beth was back. "With my own two eyes."
"Nope, it was a dream. Dream, dream, dream, dream, dream," he muttered, bending low over his notes to tune her out.
Beth opened her mouth to say something but it was impossible unless she wanted to get caught by the teacher. Sitting back, she crossed her arms and looked up at the ceiling. It didn't matter anyway. She could wait until Chemistry. That was going to be fun.
… … … … …
Beth was waiting for them when they got to Chemistry. Stiles gritted his teeth and pinched the bridge of his nose before he trudged to the table and sat down. Apparently, he'd rather brave Beth's incessant questions than the wrath of the Devil's eviler twin.
Wasting no time, she turned to face him and rested her chin on her hand. "I reckon you could have stolen something."
Stiles, who sat straight-backed and stared straight ahead, opened his mouth to reply. When nothing came out, Beth tried again.
"It stands to reason, right? Because why else," she moved closer to Stiles, a shit-eating grin on her face, "would you keep denying it? Maybe I should go to the school administrator. I mean, what if-"
Stiles whirled around and looked taken aback at how close they were sitting. He leaned back and cleared his throat. "It's uh-It's hard to explain." He shot a pleasing look over his shoulder at Scott, who was turned around in his seat staring at them.
Beth waved at him with a huge grin. He made what was probably supposed to be a smile, and turned back towards the blackboard.
"You better hurry, then. Mr Harris will be here any minute."
"Okay." Stiles huffed and looked around. "After school, okay? I'll tell you everything after school."
"Lunch."
"No! Why?"
"Beth pursed her lips and crossed her arms. "Because after school you might just leave instead. Lunch."
He rolled his eyes. "Christ, okay. Lunch." He looked over his shoulder at Scott again.
Beth smiled triumphantly and scooted back to her side of the table. Sometimes, being annoying had its perks.
When the bell rang, Stiles and Scott shot out of the classroom before everyone else. Beth took her time gathering her books. Even Mr Harris' judgmental stare couldn't take out the spring in her step as she leisurely strolled towards the cafeteria.
When she opened the door, the first thing she did was to search for Scott and Stiles. She found them sitting in a corner, untouched trays in front of them, having an urgent conversation.
Getting her lunch tray, she walked towards the boys. Scott saw her approaching and hit Stiles on the shoulder, who turned around and stared at her.
"Hey, Beth! Over here!" Lydia was sitting at their usual table, surrounded by the usual suspects. With an apologetic smile and a wave, Beth continued the rest of the way to Scott and Stiles.
"All right?" she said as she sat down beside Scott.
Scott and Stiles exchanged glances. "Um, yes?" Scott said uncertainly.
"You've gotten your stories straight yet?" She picked up and orange and started peeling.
Stiles huffed and shot her an offended look. "Wha- there's no-there's nothing to get straight," he snapped. "The truth is," he shot a pleading look at Scott, "the truth is that Scott forgot his inhaler at school, alright?"
Beth blinked a couple of times. "Inhaler? You didn't have an extra at home?"
Scott shrugged. "They're, uh … really expensive. So we had to go back. To get it."
"How … anticlimactic. Why didn't you tell me before? It seems to me that all this could've been avoided." She pointed at them all for emphasis.
Stiles threw out his arms. "Well, why did you want to know so badly?"
"Because I don't like being kept in the dark is all," Beth shot back. She showed an orange wedge into her mouth. "Why were you running away like that? It looked like you were being chased"
Scott and Stiles shared yet another look. "There were, uh, guards," Scott said.
"Because of the attack, yeah. But why not just tell them that you forgot your inhaler? Calling them, maybe? Can't imagine what kind of guard wouldn't let someone get his asthma medication." The memory of the overzealous officer surfaced. "Well, maybe I know one."
Scott shrugged. "I-uh, I don't know." He fidgeted in his seat. "But, uh … you didn't tell anyone about this, right?" Both boys were staring intently at her.
Beth scratched her neck awkwardly. "No, I didn't tell anyone. I wanted to know what you two were up to before-"
"Could-could you maybe keep this quiet? Because people could get, you know, the wrong idea." Scott looked anxiously over the students, his eyes seeking something.
Beth shrugged. "I don-"
"Please, Beth."
She looked into his imploring eyes. "Yeah. Won't tell a soul."
… … … … …
"His inhaler? Are you kidding me?"
Beth shrugged and leaned back on the couch. "That's what he said." They were sat in the living room, waiting for Jaime and Louie so they could start their last-minute family night.
Chloe rolled her eyes. "That's an excuse if I've ever heard one." She looked down at the magazine in her lap she'd been reading.
"Why would he lie?"
"I don't know," Chloe shrugged so hard the magazine slid out of her lap and landed on the floor, "but I think it's hinky."
"Hinky?"
"Don't you think so? Why didn't they just tell you this from the start? You said you had to hound Stiles for the better part of the day."
Beth scoffed. "I didn't hound him. I merely … prodded him for information."
Chloe rolled her eyes again. "Your prodding is more like a punch in the gut."
"I resent that accusation," Beth sniffed and stretched her legs out and rested her feet in Chloe's lap, covering the magazine.
"Doesn't make it any less true," Chloe mumbled and grabbed Beth's big toe, giving it a pull. "You have some nerve." She grabbed around Beth's angle and tickled the sole of her foot.
Beth regarded her coolly, or as coolly as it was possible for her to be.
"Not fair." Chloe showed her feet off her lap. "You are the giggliest idiot I know, how are you not ticklish?"
Beth threw her head back and cackled. "You have no power here!"
"Is that from Star War?"
With a gasp, Beth clutched at her throat. "You're no sister of mine!"
Louie cut Chloe's reply short. "What did she do now?" he asked as he came around the corner, carrying a dusty video player and on top of that balanced a battered VHS tape.
"She's being willfully ignorant," Beth sniffed.
"You're too easily riled up," Chloe said and pinched her leg. "You need some help?" she asked, as Louie nearly tripped over a frayed cord trailing after him.
"No, I got it."
"Clearly."
Louie placed the video player under the big TV and started hooking the cables to the television. "I found this in the garage. Fingers crossed it still works."
Chloe leaned over the armrest of the couch to get a better look. "Oh wow, I didn't know we still had this."
Louie smiled fondly at the machine. "There's a lot of memories tied to this thing," he said. "Now if only the piece of shit wants to work, or else it's gonna be tossed."
"Nice threats. I'm sure they help immensely," Beth said from where she was sprawled out on the couch.
"Well, I don't need threats, do I? Because you're going to work, aren't you, my pretty." He patted it gently.
Chloe snorted. "Oh great, now you sound like a serial killer." Beth's smile became strained as she eyed her still cracked phone that lay on the coffee table. She certainly knew someone who fitted the bill.
"What are we watching anyway?" Chloe asked.
Louie grabbed the VHS tape and held it up with a flourish. "Slugs!" He said cheerfully, before turning back around to fiddle with the cables.
"No! I thought you were joking about that! Slugs? Really?" Chloe hung her head over the armrest.
"I never joke about Slugs. See, Beth is excited." He gestured at Beth, who'd almost melted into the couch cushions.
"So excited," she mumbled, lazily waving a hand over her head.
Head in her palms, Chloe shook her head. "You two are unbelievable. Beth, I think we must've been switched at birth." That earned a laugh from the two others in the room. "At least I have popcorn to keep me company."
Louie looked over his shoulder at Chloe. "If it's popcorn you want, you're gonna have to buy it yourself."
"Aw, what? You don't have anything?" She jumped up from the couch, knocking Beth's feet to the ground, and went to the kitchen to check. There was a banging of cabinets before she returned. "There's nothing," she whined. "Not even a measly circus peanut. It's for situations like this that people normally have a stash of snacks."
Louie scoffed. "It wouldn't last long with you two in the house."
Chloe had reached the stairs before she turned around. "Beth, aren't you coming?"
Like a vampire rising from its coffin, Beth sat up on the couch. "Coming where?"
"To get some snacks from the gas station. Before curfew and all that." She shot a pointed look at Louie, who raised his hands in defence.
"But I'm so comfy here."
"Come on! I can't go alone! What if I get mauled by that … thing?"
Beth crossed her arms. "That's hardly fair."
"What's not fair is making me drive all the way across time for snacks. For all of us," she added, gesturing at the entire room.
"Pfft, the petrol station is five minutes away." Nevertheless, Beth got up from the couch with a groan. "But if you need me to protect you, who am I to refuse."
"Good girl. I'll go get my bag." Chloe disappeared up the stairs.
Louie went to his jacket that hung in the front hall and took out his wallet. "I think this should be enough," he said and handed Beth some crisp dollar bills.
When Chloe came downstairs again, Louie had returned to his fiddling with the video player.
Chloe barely touched the front door before Beth let out a shout. "Oi! Wait a sec." She bolted up the stairs and into her room. She grabbed her camera, not the Polaroid one, and after a couple of seconds consideration, she took a long lens from the shelf. When she returned downstairs, Chloe was impatiently tapping her foot.
"About time," Chloe said. "We have to get back before the curfew, remember?"
"Yeah, yeah," Beth attached the lens to the camera. "It took thirty seconds. At most."
The clock on the dashboard read 09:17 when Chloe started the car. Beth rolled down her window and took a photo of the side mirror. It took an age before the camera finally clicked.
"Doing some night photography?" Chloe asked as the car rolled out of the driveway.
Beth looked at the photo she just took. The resolution was way off. "Yeah, I figured if you had to drag me out then I could use the time for something useful." She turned towards her. "Smi-"
"Do not take a photo in here, or I will crash the car."
Beth rolled her eyes. "Relax. There's this clever little button on the side where you can toggle the flash on and off." The camera clicked loudly when she took a photo.
Chloe waved her away. "And you'd still forget to toggle it off, blind me and making me wrap the car around a tree like a pretzel."
"Chloe, have some faith in yourself." Beth poked her on the arm.
"I'll crash the car on purpose, don't test me," Chloe said but there wasn't any heat behind the words.
They bickered good-naturedly until they reached the petrol station. Chloe turned off the car and turned towards Beth. "Are you coming?"
"Nah, think I'll stay out here. Those photos won't take themselves." She waved her camera around.
"Suit yourself. I'll just get you some candy corn."
"That threat doesn't actually work when I don't know what they taste like."
"I might actually get you a bag just so I can use that threat in the future." Chloe exited the car and went into the shop.
Beth got out and stretched her arms above her head. The camera strap dug uncomfortably into her neck. Walking around the car, she held the camera up to her face and pointed it at the out of order sign at the closest pump. Just as she was about to push the button, a roar made her jump a foot in the air.
A car pulled up at the petrol pump farthest from her as she ducked down behind Chloe's car. She didn't need to see the driver to know to whom the car belonged. She only knew of one who owned a black sports car and she had a habit of running into him.
Beth peeked over the car to see Derek Hale get out and start filling his car with petrol. It was weird seeing him doing such a mundane thing as if he was somehow above basic maintenance of his car.
Suddenly, Derek lifted his head with a jerk, and Beth ducked down again. He moved his head from side to side, first staring at the shop and then at the darkened road behind him. He sighed through gritted teeth.
Beth was about to stand up – this was ridiculous, she was allowed to be there – when two cars pulled up on either side of Derek's sports car effectively blocking him in. Crawling on all fours, Beth edged to the front of the car and peered around it. Even from a distance, she could see the tension in his shoulders.
Derek, somehow looking impassively murderous, looked at the two men who'd exited the silver car. Slowly he placed the nozzle back on the pump.
"Nice ride," a voice said. Beth almost sat up in surprise. She knew that voice! Allison's father had exited the red SUV, walked up to Derek's car and placed a hand on the bonnet. "Black cars, though. Very hard to keep clean."
Beth furrowed her eyebrows. What in the world was he talking about? He sounded like an old-fashioned mob boss.
"I would definitely suggest a little more maintenance." He rubbed on a spot that, to Beth, looked pretty clean.
Derek stood stock still, regarding the situation with guarded eyes. His eyes kept flickering from the three men, looking like a cornered animal.
Mr Argent picked up a squeegee from a bucket by the pump. He looked so nonchalant as he cleaned the front window. "If you have something this nice you want to take care of it, right?" He looked at Derek. "Personally, I'm very protective of the things I love. But that's something I learned from my family." His voice was low and even.
Beth's mouth fell open. What the hell was going on? Why was Allison's father threatening Derek? Or giving him helpful car tips in the strangest way possible.
"And you don't have much of that these days." He turned away from the car. "Do you?"
Derek was about to crack, that was evident even to Beth who was crouched behind a car. His expression didn't change but his eyes blazed, brighter than they ought to be. They stared at each other in what felt like an eternity, before Derek visibly relaxed. His eyes, though, were still burning.
"There we go," said Mr Argent lightly. He placed the squeegee back in the bucket. "You can actually see through your windshield now. See how that makes everything so much clearer?"
Mr Argent was almost at his car when Derek spoke up. "You forgot to change the oil." Beth had to give it to him, he sounded composed in the face of the threatening carwash.
Turning around, Mr Argent's thin-lipped smile didn't reach his eyes. "Check the man's oil."
Beth covered her mouth to clamp down on a yelp when one of the henchmen walked up to the black car and smashed the window in. Derek stood passively in his spot.
"Look good to me," the henchman grunted.
"Drive safely," Mr Argent said, turning back and entered his car. Neither Beth nor Derek moved until they were out of sight.
When the last car disappeared around the corner, Derek walked up to his car to assess the damage. The driver side window was completely smashed in, littering the ground like ice. His impassive face transformed into a scowl at the sight.
"Hey, sorry it took so long; I couldn't find- what are you doing on the ground?" Chloe had exited the petrol station, arms filled with various brightly coloured bags.
Scrambling to her feet, clutching her camera in a death grip, Beth chanced a look at Derek. His face had once again gone murderous but this time it was directed squarely at Beth. Her knees went weak from fear when he balled his hands into fists so hard the knuckles went white and the muscles in his neck strained.
Chloe shifted her weight from leg to leg. "Are you … okay?" She furrowed her brows and looked from Beth to Derek.
"I was just-" she was cut off by a roar as Derek's car peeled away from the petrol station and disappeared into the night. There was silence for a couple of seconds.
"Okay, what the hell's going on?" Chloe hurried to Beth's side and tried rubbing her arm, resulting in her dropping most of the snacks.
Beth bent down and picked them up. "I-um, I … "her brain was blank. "I just think he's very … scary." That wasn't exactly a lie, although there was something different to it than just mere fear.
"Scary? What are you talking about?" Chloe moved to the driver's side and opened the door.
"You saw him, right? He looks like a serial killer." When her hands wouldn't stop shaking she balled them up into a fist.
Chloe scoffed. "Serial killer? More like underwear model. C'mon, get in."
Beth opened the door and collapsed in the seat. Her heart was beating hard enough she wouldn't be surprised if she could see it, like some sort of cartoon. "Hm, you're probably right," she said, looking out the window at the darkness.
"You- okay, now I know there's something really wrong. You agreed with me? Just like that."
Beth tore her eyes away from the glass littering the ground where Derek's car had been. "Can we just go home?"
Chloe gave her an uncertain look but said, "yeah, sure." She started the car and they slowly rolled out on the street.
Beth looked down at the bag of candy corn in her lap. She idly traced the name, wondering just what she'd witnessed.
