Wow I had guessed that there would be a few reviews for that last chapter, but I didn't expect there to be so many! You guys are amazing! Thank you! I do not own anything in this chapter, besides Laci, everything else belongs to their rightful owners.
Chapter 25
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The next day was the official first day back at the school since the attack with the alpha. Only she, Scott, and Stiles would know that, but it was still enough to send shivers of fear down her spine. She was walking down the halls of her high school alone. She had walked to school before Scott was ready to leave. He was still moping around because Allison broke up with him, but he swore that he was going to her back. She wished him luck at some how managing to succeed in doing that.
She kept her head down as she let the voices around her hit her ears. They were all talking about the attack, all talking about Derek and how it was him that were looking for. No one knew who it was that was attacked, but that didn't change that she knew. She was there, but Derek wasn't. No, Derek was kissing her and trying to break down her walls again. He was out there, waiting for her to give in and be with him. She couldn't do that though. She couldn't put her heart out there again, only for it to be broken again by him.
'He buried his mouth into the crook of her neck, sucking on her skin. Her breathing hitched as he kissed a soft spot on her neck. Her fingers tightened around his hair, gripping tightly as he kissed harder. He let out a frustrated growl when her sweater kept getting in the way of his lips touching her skin. He held her up with one arm as he used his other to pull her sweater up, but he was having a hard time to get it over her head. The moment was broken then as she realized what she was doing and what was going to come if she didn't stop this before he did.
She pushed as his chest, wanting him to let her go. She unwrapped her legs from around his waist and dropped to the floor, forcing him to let her go. He pulled his head back from her shoulder to looked at her in confusion. "Derek, stop." she tried, but he just shook his head to her. He didn't want to stop. He tried to lean back in to kiss her again, but she slipped under his arm and got out from between him and the mirror. "Derek, we can't do this. I may be happy you're alive and all, but it doesn't change anything." she told him as she put as much distance between herself and him.
He turned toward her, his breath panting as he tried to control his heart beat. Though, hers wasn't any different. He could hear her heart beat even if he wasn't a werewolf. He didn't know what had came over him as he moved forward toward her. He grabbed a hold of her wrist and swung her around to face him. She looked up at him, her eyes pleading for him to just listen to her. He didn't need to read her ticks or heart beat to know that she was lying right to his face. That kiss just changed everything from before, and she knew it. Without a word, he crashed his lips on hers and pulled her back against him, devouring her lips with hunger.'
She lifted her eyes up from the floor when she realized that she had stopped walking and spaced out completely. She couldn't help it though. So much had happened over the past week, and she couldn't just forget any of it. Derek had almost died, again, and then kissed her. Not once, but three times. She had been the one to turn him again this time too. She still had a date with Isaac to worry about too. Did she tell him about Derek kissing her? Did it really even count as cheating since her and Isaac weren't even official? Did that make a difference? She had still kissed Derek back, fully knowing that she had promised to go on a date with Isaac. She was a horrible person.
She looked around to see if anyone had noticed her little space out. That was when she realized where she was was. Flashes of the alpha appeared in her mind as saw it play out in head again, as if she were reliving it again. She grabbed the sides of her hair, clenching her fists tight around her hair as she squeezed her eyes shut. She wasn't there. She was safe. The alpha wasn't going to hurt her again.
'The eyes of the beast looked so evil as they were burned into her mind. She felt frozen with fear underneath it. All she could do was scream as he leaned down closer to her. Drool fell from it's mouth, hitting the side of her face. She cried out in disgust with another scream. She was going to die along with Derek. This was it for her. The alpha let out a howl before looking back down at her and opening it's mouth. The alpha's razor sharp canines were revealed to her, only causing her to scream out again. As it leaned down closer to her, she tried to shrink back as much as she could. She turned her head, squeezing her eyes shut. She didn't want to see the thing that was going to kill her.
She let out a cry as she felt it's hot breath hit the side of her face. Her cries could be heard through out at least half the school, and hopefully her brother and Stiles were in the right half of it. Another growl was heard in the direction she had come from. She opened her eyes and craned her neck up to see that Scott was in the door way that she had come through. He was in his wolf form, and seething after seeing the alpha on top of his sister. "Scott!" she screamed out to him, her voice screeching out from fear.
He let out another growl before he charged at the thing and tackled it with all that he had in him. She screamed out as they flew over her. She scrambled to sit up as she watched the two rolled around. She stared after them with horrified eyes, widening with her fear as she continued to watch them. She let out a small scream and jumped when someone grabbed her shoulders from behind. She let out a breath of relief when she saw that it was just Stile. "Shh, Lace. Come on." he whispered to her as he helped her up to her feet and took a hold of her hand. With a strong grip on her hand, he pulled her out of the hall as fast as he could, dragging her along behind him.'
"Laci!"
She screamed out as she spun around after feeling someone touch her shoulder. She ended up falling into Stiles arms out of surprise. "Stiles?" she asked up confused when she saw his concerned eyes looking down at her. He looked around them to see that people were starting to stare at them. If they didn't know who was in the school during the attack, they at least knew that Laci was now by that scream. He said nothing as he pushed her toward the nearest class room that was empty for the time being.
She followed him without protest as he closed the door behind them and turned to her. He saw how pale she looked and helped into one of the desks. He hurried to pull a seat up in front of her. "How you holding up? I could drive you home if you don't want to be here." he told her as he studied her face. She was regaining some of her color already. What ever she had been thinking about must have really spooked her. She just shook her head 'no' to him as she tried to calm her emotions. "It's no big deal. I don't think anyone would blame you for wanting to leave after what we went through last week. We still don't even know if Derek's alive or not. That's gotta be . . ." he started to say to her.
"I saw him." she blurted out.
Stiles froze in his seat, trailing off from what he was just telling her. He looked up at her with a confused expression, not knowing if he had heard her right. Did she mean Derek or did she mean the Alpha? She had to have meant Derek, because she was alive for one, but why did it seem as if it were a bad thing she saw him? If she saw him, that meant he was still alive, which was bad for him and Scott since they sicked the cops on him, but good for her. "And you don't look happy because . . ." he trailed off, hoping that she would finish it for him so he understood it better.
She bit her lip, not knowing if she wanted to tell him or not. On one hand, he would know and help her figure out what to do about it. He would be on her side like he always was and tell her that she made the right choice. On the other side, he could look at her like she was insane and disgusted because she had kissed Derek back. Stiles was her best friend, though, he would always be there for her no matter what she did. Right? "He kissed me. Three times." she confessed to him, leaving him actually shocked. He was also heart broken a little, but he hide that emotion better then his shock. He opened his mouth to say something, but she cut him off before he could even utter a sound. "And I kissed him back. All three times, but I slapped him the last time and made him leave." she explained to him.
Stiles was speechless, he honestly didn't know what to say to her. It wasn't just because she had kissed Derek, that was a major part of it, but it wasn't why he couldn't find any words to say to her. It was because she was so torn up about this. He knew that she liked Derek, which killed him inside, but that didn't change the facts that she did. "Why . . . I don't under . . . what's the problem? You didn't seem to mind the last time he, you know, kissed you." he managed to ask her as he rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly.
Laci knew that he wished that he were somewhere else right now, but she knew that he wouldn't leave until he knew that she was alright. She knew that he cared for her, he was her best friend after all. "Isaac, Stiles. I still have that date with Isaac, and then I went and made out with Derek. What kind of person am I? I haven't even given him a real shot yet, and I'm already making out with someone else." she cried to him as she dropped her face into her hands. She was just so confused, she didn't know what to do.
Stiles stared at her in disbelief, not believing that she could think so low of herself. She had to be the most strongest person that he knew. She was smartest person he knew, and she was absolutely beyond beautiful. She listened to him run his mouth and never looked at him as if he were stupid. She laughed at his jokes, even when he'll even admit that they weren't that funny. She'd laugh anyways just because she knew that he needed someone to. He raised his hand up and grabbed her hand, bringing her attention back up to him. "It makes you human, Lace, and between you and me? This town needs some of those right now." he told her as he gave her hand a squeeze. "And if you really want to give Isaac a try? Don't worry about Derek. You just needed to get him out of your system, and now you have. End of story." he told her as he reached up with his other hand and wiped away her tears.
He gave her a small smile, trying to cheer her up. She smiled weakly at him in return, squeezing his hand that was still holding hers. "Thanks, Stiles. You have no idea how much I needed to hear that." she told him. The bell rang then, ruining the moment that was happening between them. Laci pulled her hand from his and wiped her face clear of tears and sniffled as she got up from the desk. Stiles followed her as he got up from his own seat. "I'll see in class later on, Stiles. Oh, and at practice." she told him, suddenly smiling as if she hadn't been just crying a second ago.
She surprised him by kissing his cheek before leaving the room. Stiles stared after with a shocked expression, holding his hand to face as his cheeks turned red. She had kissed him, on the cheek, but a kiss was a kiss! So much for moving on. "Yes!" he suddenly exclaimed as he did a small little celebratory dance around the spot he was standing on. His dance went on until the teacher came in and gave him a weird look. He fumbled to straighten up as he adjusted his back and hurried out of them room then.
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Laci was sitting at lunch alone. She was waiting for Isaac to come and join her. She had told her brother, who was acting strangely today, and everyone else that she wouldn't be sitting with them. She and Isaac had made plans for just them to sit together at lunch today and talk about their up coming date. She was chewing on the brownie that she had grabbed when someone sat down beside her. She smiled as she swallowed and looked up, thinking that it was Isaac, only to see that it was Jackson instead. "Oh, man, you got something on your . . . here, let me." he said out as he reached toward her.
She froze as he wiped the bit of chocolate off the bottom of her lip. She stared wide eyed at him as he actually eat it. She didn't know what to do except laugh. It was almost forced, but he didn't seem to notice. "Uh, thanks." she told him as she finished chewing and put down the rest of her desert. "So you want the bite?" she asked him, her curiosity getting the better of her. She tried to make it seem as if she just meant the brownie, but she wanted to see his reaction.
She knew that he was onto Scott's secret, and that he had a secret of his own concerning Derek and the alpha. That much was clear with the scratches on his neck. She was curious as to see how much he knew though. By the look on his face, she knew that he knew at least a good amount of the werewolf secret. "What?" he asked her, looking at her as if she had two heads. She knew then that he thought that she meant the werewolf bite.
She held up her brownie to him and looked at him confused, as if she didn't know where his mind had really gone when she asked him that. She'd have to play it cool, though, as if she was confused by his reaction. "Did you want a bite? Of the brownie, I mean. If not, I'll just split it with Isaac when he gets here." she told him as she put it back down. She glanced around the cafe, wondering where Isaac could be. He had texted her, telling her that he would be a little late, but she didn't want to sit here with Jackson alone for too much longer.
The two of them had gotten along pretty well before the attack at the school, but that didn't mean she wanted to be left alone with him. "Oh," he said to her as he shook his head, realizing that she hadn't meant what he had thought she did. He let out an awkward chuckle, but she saw right through him. She tried her best not to let him know that she saw right through him, though. "No." he told her as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh, save it for Lahey. You guys can be all coupley or what ever." he told her nervously as he continued to rub his neck.
That reminded her that Stiles had seen marks on the back of his neck. Lydia had said that they were there before the attack on the movie store, but that wasn't a lot to go on. What ever it was on his neck, it wasn't normal and it had something to do with the whole 'werewolf' thing too. The fact that Jackson knew Derek before the attack too didn't settle with her either. "Are you doing alright, Jackson? How's your neck?" she asked him as she turned towards him in her seat. She reached out to check on his neck, but he flinched away from her before she could.
His nervous look disappeared as he flashed her a weak grin and shrugged his shoulders. He wasn't going to tell her how sick he felt or how scared he was that Derek was still out there and could pop up anyway without warning. "My neck's fine, Lace. Don't worry." he told her as he looked around the cafe before settling back on her. She looked a little pale and she had bags under her eyes as if she hadn't slept in a few days. "Besides, you look like the one who needs to be asked how you are. You sleeping okay?" he asked her as gave her a quick look over.
She bit her lip, not knowing if she wanted to tell him. She wasn't sure if she was the only one, but her nightmares were keeping her up. It didn't help that Derek had appeared and declared that he wasn't going to let her go without a fight. She'd wake up screaming during the night, and then she wouldn't be able to get back to sleep for the hours. She kept seeing the alpha's red eye, it's snarling face, hovering above her. She swore that she could feel it's breath on her skin again, and the feel of it's drool as it touched her cheek. She shivered just at the horrible reminder of her nightmares. "Honestly? No, I'm not. I can't sleep knowing he's still out there. I keep dreaming that he comes back and finishes what he started when he attacked me. Every dream I have too, Scott isn't there to save me like he did." she confessed to him as she looked away from her food in front of her.
She jumped when he moved his chair closer to her and wrapped his arm around her, pulling her close and letting her put her head on his shoulder. She breathed out as her eyes closed for a long moment, just letting him hold her for a minute. It wasn't like how Derek held her or even how Scott held her. She didn't feel comfortable and protected, but she felt shielded almost. Like, even if it was Jackson who was holding her, it was alright to just stay there and no one could hurt her. "They'll catch Derek, Lace. He won't hurt you again." he whispered to her as he squeezed her shoulder.
She looked up at him with a weak smile. She shocked him by hugging him back. She had just needed to hear those words 'you're safe' from someone else who got it, who was there. Even if he was talking about the wrong person that she would be safe from, it still meant something important to her. "Thanks, Jackson. I needed to hear that." she told him as she rested her head on his shoulder. He glanced over her shoulder and saw Scott and Stiles watching them. He grinned smugly at them over her held as he tightened his grip around her.
A throat cleared behind them, causing Laci to pull herself away from him. She blushed with guilt when she saw Isaac standing there with a tray full of food. She really was a horrible person, first she kissed Derek and now Isaac found her hugging Jackson. What made her feel worse, was that he was looking at them with a hurt expression on his face. He looked like he wanted to run and hide. "Isaac, hey. Jackson was just keeping me company until you got here." she told him as she wiped her eyes to make sure that she wasn't crying before shifting in her seat to get more comfortable.
Isaac gave them an uncertain look, but nodded his head before sitting in the seat in front of her. The three of them sat in an awkward silence for a long moment before Laci shot Jackson a look. Jackson caught on and figured out that she wanted him to leave her and Isaac alone now. He laughed, seeing the irony of him being the one to be asked to leave inside of the other guy. "Okay, I get it. I'm not wanted anymore. Have fun you two." he said to them as he picked up his tray and got up to leave, but paused as he leaned down beside her. "And if you need to talk some more, you have my number." he whispered to her before going to leave.
The awkward silence lasted another minute between them even with Jackson gone before Laci cleared her throat and held up her brownie to Isaac. "Brownie? I thought that we could split it. Sorry, I already took a bite of it." she told him as she motioned for him to take part of it. He let out a nervous laugh as he looked away from her. For a moment, she thought that it would return to an awkward silence, but he looked up at her from the corner of his eyes and gave her that sweet smile of his before nodding and taking the brownie from her.
She smiled brightly in return, relieved that the ice had been broken. He split the brownie as best he could and passed the half that she had already bitten back to her. She laughed as took it from him and happily took another bite out of it. Isaac watched as some of the brownie smudged onto her lip and chuckled as he reached forward and wiped it from the corner of her mouth. She blushed, remembering that Jackson had done something simliar with her only a minute ago, and lowered her head in embarrassment as he brushed it off on his jeans. "Well, that's embarrassing and not cute at all." she mumbled out loud on accident.
He chuckled and shook his head at her. She blushed again as she looked up to see him still watching her with that look. He was looking at her the way she's seen Stiles look at her when he doesn't think she's looking. She didn't know what it meant, though, and she's not sure if she does. "You're always cute." he blurted out to her, only to stammer as he realized that he had said that loud enough for her to hear him. His eyes widened with worry, hoping that she didn't think that he was weird or anything. He shifted in his seat uncomfortably, not knowing what to do now.
She giggled at how he was acting. He was worse then Stiles when he got embarrassed. She seemed to forget all her worries about Derek, about her nightmares, and the alpha as she reached out and pulled his hand in hers. His head snapped up from their hands to her smiling face. "Thanks, Isaac. Good to know that someone thinks so." she told him softly as she gave his hand a squeeze. He looked back at her with amazement, not believing that she hadn't called him weird and left already. Her eyes flickered down to their hands and her smile fell as her eyes caught sight of yet another bruise around his wrist.
His smile faded when he saw her's do the same. He followed her eyes and saw what she was staring at. He fumbled around as he pulled his hand away from her and returned it to his side as he tugged down his jacket sleeve. She looked up at him with concern, wondering where this bruise had come from. "I accidentally tripped over one of the head stones when I was trying to leave to get to the police last week. Doctor said that it wasn't serious, just a bad bruising." he told her, but he couldn't seem to keep his eyes on her. He was lying, and she knew it, even if she didn't want to.
She didn't say anything, even if it was playing over in her head. She didn't want to believe what she was thinking up in her head. She couldn't believe it, so she didn't. She left it alone like she always did. "So how about this date that we need to go on? I don't think that I wanna chance it again and wait for the next game." she said to him, her smile returning as she looked back up at him. He seemed to like the subject change even more then she did as he nodded his head in agreement. She laughed just because his smile sent her stomach into flips, her mind only worrying about what they could possibly do other then the usual dinner and a movie. Isaac seemed to be even more happy upon hearing that she didn't want to do that. This was normal, she thought to herself. She found that she really missed normal, and that normal wasn't bad. She could like normal, she had to.