"It doesn't really matter how you do it," Coach Finstock says to his seventh period economics class, "on paper or electronically I don't care. Just make sure you have your economic growth chart ready to present by next Tuesday… now I assume you mongrels can divide into partners without my assistance, so do it and get to work."
Camilla turns herself around and looks into Isaac's green eyes, "What do you say? Want to be partners?"
"Hm, I'll have to think about it… yes," the boy replies with a smile.
"Great," the dark haired girl says, smiling back, she grabs her notebook from her desk and places it on to Isaac's. "So I was thinking we could just…"
Across the room sit Nolan and Jackson. Nolan writes the last of his notes into the purple notebook before looking up to see Jackson smiling at him.
The auburn haired boy sets his pen down, "What?"
"I was thinking we could be partners," the other boy says. "There's only two other people in this classroom who were possible candidates and since they've already teamed up… sort of looks like you and I are together by default."
Nolan sets his pen down and then shuts the notebook, "You aren't my only option, I could be partners with Kallie."
"Kallie's the girl with the long black hair, right? She looks like she's already got a partner."
Turning around, Nolan see that Kallie is contently writing something down while talking with another girl, he sighs and looks back at Jackson, "Looks like you're right. We're partners then, I guess."
"Not if you don't want to be, I just…"
"No, really," Nolan smiles, "I'm all for it. Do you want to work on it tonight? Get the whole thing out of the way?"
Jackson nods as the bell rings. The boy rips a piece of paper from out of his binder and quickly scribbles his phone number on it. "Text me and I'll give you my address. We can meet up and get it done tonight at around six if that works for you."
"Yeah, alright," the boy smiles, pulling his backpack over his shoulder. "I'll see you tonight."
TEEN WOLF
Later that day, Camilla grabs an orange marker and finishes up the writing on her and Isaac's poster for the econ project. When she stops writing, she caps the marker and stares intently at her work.
"It looks awesome, babe," Isaac tells her. Camilla doesn't look up, but smiles, still looking at the poster.
"You think so?" she asks, wrinkling her nose.
Isaac leans over and pulls his girlfriend onto his laugh, causing the brunette to laugh.
"I know so. Now we're done, so we can stop doing school work, and just hang out," Isaac says, nuzzling into Camilla's neck.
"Just hang out? That's it?" Camilla says with a teasing frown.
"Well, I mean, we could do a little bit of this…" Isaac says seductively, leaning in and placing his lips on Camilla's.
They break apart and Camilla laughs again "I think I can handle doing that."
"What about some of this?" Isaac leans in again and kisses her more forcefully, pulling her closer to him. Camilla drags her hands along Isaac's back, making him sigh happily at the feeling.
He moves her from his lap and begins to push her down onto the couch, when her phone starts buzzing on the table. The couple looks over at the phone and Isaac moans, "Can't you ignore it?"
"Probably not," Camilla answers. "Now get your hot bod off mine so I can see who it is."
Isaac groans but does as she says. Camilla's hand reaches out and sees the caller is Allison. She huffs but slides her thumb across the screen to answer her cousin's call.
"Hey, Allison, what's up?" she says, sitting up and pulling up a fallen bra strap. Isaac leans into Camilla and begins kissing her neck, making her squirm. "Stop!" she mouths, playfully pushing him away.
"Well, Scott, Lydia, Stiles, and I are going to the skate rink tonight and were wondering if you and Isaac wanted to go."
Camilla looks over at Isaac who shrugs, having been able to hear Allison with his keen senses.
"Yeah, sure, we'll come. What time?"
"Well, um, that's the thing. We probably won't go until later… until it's, you know, empty," Allison says.
"So we're breaking in?" Camilla asks. Isaac raises an eyebrow.
"I mean if you want to get all technical…" Allison banters.
Camilla shakes her head, "Well, we'll get back to you on that. We might've had enough of the breaking and entering for a while, with Gerard and the cemetery and everything. Plus, I'm not sure my dad will let me stay out too late." Isaac nods his head and Camilla shudders from remembrance of the burning of her grandfather.
"Alright, well just text me before like… 8, and I'll give you more details if you guys decide to come."
"Sounds good, Armpit," Camilla says before hanging up.
"Well, it's only five now," Isaac says, leaning his head in to kiss Camilla's neck again. "So we've got a while to decide."
Camilla closes her eyes and sets her phone back on the table, "So… true…"
The two are interrupted when Erica walks in and sits on the chair. When they notice her arrival they quickly pull apart.
"Sorry to be a cock block," Erica grimaces. "I'm just sick of sitting in my room all day. I need some human interaction."
"It's cool, we were just trying to pass the time. But I'm glad you came out, I've missed you these last couple days," Isaac tells the blonde.
"I know… It's just—"
"You don't need to explain anything," Isaac stops her. "You just do what you need to."
Erica smiles faintly and nods, "What is this, an econ project?" Her eyes move to the poster board on the table.
"Yeah, we figured we might as well get it done sooner rather than later," Camilla answers.
"Looks good," Erica tells her, causing Camilla to smile. "So what are you guys planning for the rest of the night?"
"Well, we got invited to break into a skate rink with Scott, Stiles, Allison, and Lydia…" Isaac begins.
Erica chuckles a little and shakes her head.
"Yeah, but I think we're just going to hang out here tonight, if you don't mind the company," Camilla tells the girl.
"That would be nice, actually," Erica smiles.
Isaac looks over at Camilla and shakes his head in wonder, reaching over to take her hand in his. He was grateful she wanted to be there for Erica even though they weren't that close.
TEEN WOLF
At Scott's house, he sits with Stiles in his living room, playing Call of Duty.
When their game finishes, Stiles throws down his controller and raises his arms above his head, "I am a champion. It's like I've actually fought in wars before."
Scott rolls his eyes and sets his controller down. He stands up and stretches his legs. Just then, Melissa walks in with a file of papers in her hands.
"Hey, boys," she says with a small smile.
"Hey, Mom," Scott says at the same time Stiles nods and waves.
"You guys working hard or hardly working?" she asks as they follow her into the kitchen.
"Both?" Stiles answers unsurely.
Melissa shakes her head and sets her things down on the counter.
"What are those papers for?" Scott asks, eyeing the file.
Melissa turns away to grab a glass out of a cupboard and turns back to face the boys, with a serious look on her face.
"These are the papers that will make me Erica's legal guardian until she turns 18," she answers.
Scott and Stiles's eyes widen.
"W-what? How did this happen?" Scott asks, bewildered.
"Well, her parents were murdered, Scott. And with her history of "running away" CPS would've sent her to a foster home. So I visited her yesterday and brought up this suggestion. This way she can stay with her pack, the only family she's got left."
"And she said yes?" Stiles asks.
Melissa nods, "Yeah. I didn't know what to expect, but she was all for it. She thanked me a million times. I just feel so bad for the girl."
Everyone is silent for a moment, feeling empathy for their friend.
"That's really awesome of you, Mom," Scott says, moving next to her and placing his arm around her.
"Yeah, you really did a nice thing for her," Stiles adds.
"She needs you guys in her life, I wasn't about to let anyone take that away from her," Melissa says.
"So is she going to start staying here and everything?" Scott asks, his arm still around his mother.
Melissa shrugs, "I'm not going to make her. She agreed that some of her stuff from her house should come here, just so I don't seem like a neglectful guardian if anyone decides to investigate this situation. But, I know she'd probably feel better at the loft, so if she wants to stay there, she can."
"You really are amazing, Ms. McCall," Stiles says, earning a smile from Melissa.
TEEN WOLF
Arriving at the Whittemore house just after six o'clock that evening, Nolan is led to Jackson's room. Upon entering it, Jackson pulls the door shut behind him and watches as Nolan examines the place.
"Wow, this place is… pristine," Nolan says as he sets his Jansport backpack onto the neatly made bed.
"Yeah," Jackson agrees, "our housekeeper Vera does a pretty good job."
"You have a housekeeper? Why am I not surprised…"
Nolan slowly makes his way over to the floor length mirror and watches Jackson move over to his desk in the reflective glass. Jackson watches intently as his project partner explores the room ever so gently.
"Are you waiting for something? A body to drop from the ceiling?" Jackson jokes.
Turning around to face him, Nolan asks, "Why? Is a body going to drop from the ceiling?"
"Just because I'm a werewolf doesn't mean I'm some murderous hellhound."
Nolan sits down on the bed abruptly and then speaks, "But your eyes are blue… when I saw you on the full moon you had blue eyes, that means you've killed."
Jackson sighs, "Yeah, I have. Back when I was the Kanima… my master had me out and killing just about every night. I had no idea I was doing it either, not until Scott and Stiles locked me in the back of an armored truck and all but showed me proof."
"Are you telling me the truth? You aren't going to like… chain me up in your basement and go all Silence of the Lambs on me, are you? Because I like my skin on me."
"I promise I won't go cutting your skin off."
Nolan let out a sigh, "Good to know."
"Got any other questions up your sleeve?" Jackson asks, scooting his chair closer to the bed.
"Yeah, do you know why Lydia has it in her head that there's something going on between us?"
Jackson laughs, "She's just… she's Lydia. That pretty much sums it up."
"It's crazy though, right… You're not like trying to seduce me or anything are you?"
"Not unless you want me to."
Nolan blushes and then says, "I hope you're right about her just being Lydia, because you and me is just… an insane thought for her to have. I wouldn't ever and you wouldn't ever… and you and Lydia are pretty much my only friends here and I wouldn't want to jeopardize that."
"You won't," Jackson insists. "We're your friends, Nolan. Me, Lydia, and everyone else – you're kind of part of this pack now. Even if you don't realize it."
"You're not at all like what people told me you were like."
"Let me guess, most people said I was Beacon Hills' signature asshole."
"Dick, asshole, jackass, douche bag… you don't have a whole lot of fans in this town," Nolan admits.
Jackson rolls his eyes, "Yet not one of the people telling you how awful I am has the guts to say it to my face. Stiles might be the only one… before I left I was sure that everyone loved me. But being back here I'm realizing that most of the people who claimed to be my friends were more into my looks and my Porsche than anything else."
"Why'd you come back?" Nolan asks suddenly, "I just mean, it seems sort of out of the blue that you're back. What could you have done in that school that was so bad you were expelled?"
"What do you think?"
"Drugs, alcohol, initiating a fight club…"
Again, Jackson laughs, "No, I just broke a rule that they had and I think the fact that I broke that rule with my roommate and two of his friends probably didn't help matters. All four of us got expelled for it and the rest is history."
"Did you vandalize something?" Nolan speculates.
"Not in so many words, but it's the past and honestly it helped me realize who I really am. So I guess I'm kind of thankful I was kicked out."
"Fair enough… and for the record," Nolan says as he unzips his backpack, "I don't think you're an asshole. You're actually a genuinely good guy."
Jackson flashes a grin and says, "Back at you."
TEEN WOLF
Lydia spins in a perfect circle, her green skirt puffing out around her. Stiles watches in awe as he ties his laces and then skates out to her.
As the boy comes to her, Lydia grabs his hand and says, "Here's hoping this skate date does better than the last one."
"What do you mean?" Stiles asks as they begin to move around the empty rink.
Lydia throws some hair over her shoulder, "I mean that hopefully this time I won't see any dead people under the ice."
"That's a good hope to have… and did you say 'date'?"
Lydia's mouth turns up in a smile, "You caught that, huh?"
In the stands Scott and Allison laugh as they reminisce about their previous skating endeavor. Scott smiles as Allison impersonates him.
"'I'm a werewolf, Allison,'" she mocks, "'I think I can ice skate.'"
Scott laughs, "I really thought I would be able to!"
"The only thing you were able to do that night is bring me to the verge of tears from laughing so hard. Ha, remember when you fell and thought you'd broken your nose?"
Scott rolls his eyes, "That wasn't funny."
"You're a werewolf! You don't break," the dark haired girl says with a smile.
There's a moment of silence between them and then more laughing as the two share more memories of Scott's failure to skate.
"Maybe I'll be better this time," the boy beams.
"Only one way to find out," Allison says, grabbing his hand and pulling him up and out onto the rink. The two make it halfway around – Scott clutching Allison's hand for dear life – and once they catch up with Lydia and Stiles everything seems to be going smoothly.
"Is Camilla not coming?" Lydia asks after a moment.
"No, she and Isaac decided to stay in with Erica," Allison informs her friend.
"Oh that's niiiiiice!" Scott exclaims as he slips and falls hard onto the ice.
Stiles and Lydia burst into laughter as Allison bends down to help the boy up.
From further away, Stiles says, "Smooth moves, buddy!"
Covering her mouth with her hand, Allison asks, "Are you alright?"
"You're laughing at me," Scott insists as he feels a smile spread across his face.
The girl shakes her head, "No I'm not, I promise. It's just… you fell!"
Scott gives her a faux-angry look and then pulls her down beside him, "Now who's laughing?" he asks as he begins to laugh himself.
TEEN WOLF
Isaac shrugs on his jacket and bends down to kiss Camilla on the cheek.
"I'll be back. And when I return, you ladies will bow down to me and my splendor of food," Isaac says, imitating a king.
The girls shake their heads and wave him off. He winks at them, grabs his keys, and heads out the door.
"I'm really glad you guys stayed," Erica tells Camilla who had just begun cleaning up the pieces to the game of Monopoly they just played. "I really needed it."
"I'm glad we did too, it's nice getting to know you better. You're basically Isaac's sister, you're a very important part of his life," Camilla says.
"So are you," Erica replies with a smile. "I don't even know if you realize how much you mean to him. He really cares about you."
Camilla blushes and averts her eyes, "I hope so, because I really like him. I haven't really felt this way, well, ever. But I never thought I'd be able to feel happy again after my mom…" she stops, unable to say the word.
"Died?" Erica suggests. "Yeah, I know the feeling."
Camilla's face drains, and she says, "Oh my God, I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking. I—"
"It's okay, really," Erica assures her. "We both know the same pain, although it sucks, it's kinda nice to have someone who knows how it feels. How long ago did your mother pass, if you don't mind me asking?"
"It was almost a year ago," Camilla tells the blonde. "Just a few days after my birthday."
"So that means your birthday is coming up then?"
"Yeah, it's this Saturday, actually. The first one without her… God, I don't know why I'm blubbering about this, you just lost both of your parents, I should be listening to you!"
"No really, I don't mind. The last few days has been everyone asking me if I'm okay, it's nice for the attention to be off of me for a while," Erica says gratefully.
"Yeah. Everyone means well but it's just like they keep bringing it up and making the cut so much deeper every time they do."
"Exactly," Erica agrees, and then sighs. "Who would've known we'd start bonding over the death of our parents?"
"It's kinda sick, huh?" Camilla says, shaking her head. "A lot of us have dead parents though… It's a common theme with our group of friends and it sucks. I'm just happy my mom died in a non-supernatural way."
"I think Isaac or you told me before," Erica ponders, trying to remember. "It was breast cancer right?"
"Yeah," the other girl answers. "She was struggling with it for a few years. And in her last days she was just so weak. We were expecting her to go at any minute, but I wasn't there when she did. And I regret that so much." The brunette wipes a tear from her eye, remembering.
Erica exhales a shaky breath, "Me too. I wish I could've been with them for just five more minutes. The last thing I told them was a lie. I said I was going to the lacrosse game, I kissed them on the cheek, and left." Tears begin to flow from the girl's eyes.
"That's the worst isn't it? When they're gone, you think of all the things you should've said. How much you love them, how much they mean to you… And now we don't get another chance." Camilla's tears fall heavier now.
The two girls sit in silence, thinking about their sorrow filled lives.
Within a minute, Derek walks in and out. He glances at the girls who try and hide their tears, but he notices. He doesn't say a word as he heads out the door, anger on his face and his fists clenched.
"Have you guys talked at all? I know Isaac said your relationship was complicated…" Camilla asks.
"Not much. He comes and checks on me every once in a while. But I don't know what to say, and neither does he. It's a hard place to be in. He was there with me when I found them, and he stayed with me all night," Erica says, wiping a tear as she remembers. "He held me in his arms and just let me cry. I knew he wanted to go find The Root and rip him to pieces, but I needed him."
Camilla smiles, "It's good you had him. I had my dad, but we were both so torn apart, we couldn't look at each other without breaking down again."
"I bet that was hard. I'm grateful for Derek, but he's just so angry all the time about it, and I think he feels a bit guilty…" Erica tells her.
Before they can continue talking, Isaac returns with bags of food.
"I am back, bow down to me before—" he stops when he realizes the two girls are crying.
"Oh no. Hey guys, shit—"
"We're fine," Erica laughs, wiping her face with her sleeve. "Just a little dead-parent talk that we both needed." Camilla nods, wiping her face too.
Isaac sits next to Camilla and hands Erica one of the bags, "Well, I'm a part of that club too… but let's not get into that. How about I can just enjoy a nice, greasy meal with my girls, okay?"
"Okay," they answer simultaneously.
"No more tears?"
"No more tears," they say at the same time again.
"Alright," Isaac says, satisfied. He wraps his arm around Camilla and kisses her on the head right before opening the bag in his hands and pulling out the food.
TEEN WOLF
Derek slams the door to his Camaro when he arrives at the Hale house, anger pulsing through his veins.
When he gets to the door he kicks it open, already in wolf-mode.
"Come out you bastard!" he growls. "I know you're here."
He kicks a chair in his way and enters what used to be the living room. He hears a noise and turns to the direction it came from.
"Come out and face me," he roars.
Instead of The Root stepping out of the shadows, Boyd does.
"Long time no see, Derek," he says smirking.
"Boyd what the hell are you doing? You do know your "master" killed Erica's parents? He's destroying what used to be your pack!"
"Yeah, and I'm helping him," Boyd replies, still smiling.
"Why? What did we do to you that you're turning your back on your true friends?"
"True friends wouldn't have let me die!" Boyd yells. In a flash he transforms and moves towards Derek.
Derek anticipates his moves, and maneuvers out of the way. When Boyd turns around, Derek strikes, nailing him in the stomach.
Boyd barely reacts, and charges at him again. He misses, and Derek's swipes his claws against Boyd's face, slowing him down a bit.
The two got at it for minutes, but Derek obviously has the upper hand. He gets a strong hold of Boyd and begins punching his face over and over. The anger flows through him and he doesn't stop. Boyd struggles, but as he continues to get his, he becomes weaker.
All of the sudden, Malum appears in the room, and in a strong voice, he yells, "Let him go now, or I'll kill more than just her parents."
Derek stops, his heart racing. He thinks, and decides to oblige. He yanks Boyd's body up and throws him into a wall where the younger boy collapses in a heap.
"Now is that any way to treat an old friend?" The Root asks, still in the form of Erica's father, blood still soaking his clothes.
"He's no longer a friend, he's proven that," Derek huffs.
"That's right," The Root agrees. "Now, things might be different if I wasn't mostly controlling him, but oh well. Details, details."
"Why are you doing this?" Derek asks.
"Well, I was just enjoying my time in the real world until you decided to break my bond. That wasn't very nice of you. I wasn't causing any harm. Plus, I thought you would be happy I brought blondie back," The Root answers.
"She wasn't fully herself, just like Boyd."
"I see your point…" Malum says. "Oh, and if you're thinking you're going to break his bond too, you're dead wrong. I took care of that. I won't make the same mistake twice, I just wasn't counting on a little know-it-all giving away all the answers." The Root frowns.
"Any who, I'd better run, I have plans for more destruction since you decided to start a war," The Root says.
"We didn't start anything, we just wanted all of Erica back."
"Tomato, tom-ah-toe," Malum says, waving his hand. "See you soon!"
Derek watches as The Root snaps and disappears.
TEEN WOLF
Lydia skates to the sideline and clutches at her chest, a strange fullness coming over her.
"Are you okay?" Stiles asks, skating up beside her.
She nods her strawberry blonde head, "Yeah, I just… I feel like I need to cough or something."
"Is she alright?" Allison asks as she and Scott come up to the duo standing beside the bar. Allison's nose and cheeks shine red due to the cold of the skating rink.
"I'm fine, I just… have this really weird feeling in my chest. I don't know what it is."
Scott suggests, "Maybe you swallowed funny?"
"Maybe," Lydia says as she tries to clear her throat, her fingers wrap around the small L pendant on her necklace.
Allison begins to skate off, "I'll go get you a water."
"No, it's fine I…" then as if floodgates had been opened, Lydia lets out an earthshaking wail, "AIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"
TEEN WOLF
