( heart monitor )
The day after the conferences everyone was back to normal. Lydia and Elle were back in the real world and caught up with any work they had missed. Isabelle text her manager to apologise for missing her shift even though her mother had given them warning.
Lydia and Elle and both agreed to ignore what happened and try and block it from their memory. So with that method in tow, they went back towards school.
Scott, however, received another threat from Derek. "Stay away from Allison. Stay away from Allison. Stay away from Allison. Stay away from Allison." Scott repeated, walking down the hallway when he spotted his girlfriend that he was ignoring.
He turned the other way and hurriedly tried to find another route before she spotted him. "Must stay away from Allison. Just stay away from Allison-" he made his way up some steps when he spotted Jackson coming out of a classroom and had to turn the other way again, "Stay away from Jackson. Just stay away from Jackson."
"Hey, Scott." called Lydia when he made his way down another hallway into the one where she was at her locker.
"Oh, come on!"
Stiles was sat down at his desk already to work when the blonde bombshell walked in. He glanced up thinking it maybe Scott but was pleasantly surprised when it was Elle coming to sit in Scott's seat. He looked at her confused but was not complaining. Before he had the chance to ask what she was doing she spoke.
"Are you ok? Uh-sorry you probably don't know what I mean. I'm talking about your dad. I heard he got hit by a car in the parking lot on parents evening? Is he alright? I'm sorry I haven't come to check sooner it's just with the whole 'mountain lion in the rental store' fiasco I haven't really been thinking straight," she explained placing a hand over his because she sat side ways on Scott's chair.
His face turned red at the touch on his limb and he gave a spluttering response, "Uh-yeah-um he's uh fine."
"I'm glad that he's okay. But that's not all I wanted to talk to you about." she dragged the 'about' out emphasising it in a way that made Stiles' heart pound and hands sweat. He wondered if she could feel it. He really hoped not. That would put her off for life.
"Look, I wanted to thank you for the other day. You didn't have to come round and check on me after the attack but you did and I'm really grateful for it. I probably made a gigantic fool of myself with all the drugs that were in my system and can hardly remember anything but my mum told me you came and then I got these little flashback things of me falling asleep half way through a conversation so I apologise loads for that."
"Oh-uh seriously don't worry about that. Pssh it doesn't matter," Stiles said, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment with his unoccupied hand, cheeks ablaze.
"No, no, no, thank you, seriously appreciate it," Elle insisted rubbing her thumb gently over his hand comfortingly, "Now, I don't know what it's like to have my dad being hit by a car, but if you ever want to talk to me about it, please let me know and I'll be here for it okay," she smiled at him before getting out of McCall's seat.
Stiles grabbed her hand just as she was about to let go, "Oh, um, sorry yeah, but do you uh-do you want to sit there this lesson?" he asked her.
"Oh! Uh sorry I can't. Besides doesn't your friend sit there?" and with that she left.
Scott walked into the room and immediately spotted his best friend. Stiles' pounding heart caught his attention and his eyes furrowed in confusion before he saw the glare being sent his way and he sighed and made his way over and sat down.
"Still not talking to me? Okay, can you at least tell me if your dad's okay? It's just a bruise, right? Some soft tissue damage? Nothin' that big - You know I feel really bad about it, right? Okay. What if I told you that I'm trying to figure this whole thing out, and - That I went to Derek for help?" Scott bombarded Stiles with questions trying to get him to talk to him if not, forgive him.
"If I was talking to you, I'd say that you're an idiot for trusting him. But obviously I'm not talking to you," Stiles said, his mood dropping considerably from a few minutes before, but the temptation to know what Derek said got too much for him, "What did he say?"
"The what of who?" Lydia and Elle asked as they sat down for lunch in the library because Allison wanted to show them something 'interesting'.
"The beast of Gevaudan. Listen. 'A quadruped wolf - like monster, prowling the Auvergne and south Dordogne areas of France during the year 1764 to 1767. La Bete killed over a hundred people, becoming so infamous that the King Louie the 15th sent one of his best hunters to try and kill it.'" Allison recited from a book she had propped open on her lap, her food pushed to the side of her, untouched.
"Boring." Lydia declared pointing her fork at Allison.
"'Even the church eventually declared the monster a messenger of Satan.'" Allison carried on.
"Still boring." Elle agreed stabbing a leaf in her chicken salad.
"'Cryptozoologists believe it may have been a subspecies of hoofed predator, possibly a mesonychid.'" Allison persisted trying to excite the two friends.
"'Slipping into a coma" bored." Lydia picked up a tiny bean on the end of her fork and placed it into her mouth.
"'While others believe it was a powerful sorcerer who could shape - shift into a man - eating monster.'"
"Any of this have anything to do with your family?" Elle interrupted, her head banging on the table after she pushed her food away from her. Just listening to Allison droning on and on made her want to take Jackson advice and stab herself in the face with a fork.
"This. 'It is believed that la Bete was finally trapped and killed by a renown hunter who claimed his wife and four children were the first to fall prey to the creature.' His name was Argent." Allison finished.
"Your ancestors killed a big wolf. So what?" Lydia inquired.
"Not just a big wolf. Take a look at this picture. What does it look like to you? Lydia? Elle? Guys." She snapped them out of their daze from seeing a beast in picture form in the book with glowing red eyes. The one that looks like the animal from the rental store.
"It looks - like a big - wolf. See you in History." Lydia walked off leaving Elle staring at the picture. Allison looked at her confusingly and put the book down but Elle was still staring at where it was.
Allison snapped her fingers in front of her to get the attention back into her friend, "Are you ok?"
"What? Yeah yeah I'm fine. I'd also better get to history." Allison was left sat there confused while Elle walked past a serious expression on her face as she remembered those red eyes from the picture.
Elle was walking down the hallway in her free period when she spotted Allison and Jackson sitting down chatting, leaning on the lockers. She smiled to herself, happy that Allison might actually start to like Lydia's boyfriend and her best friend, and that in return, Jackson might be slightly more polite and welcoming to Allison, additionally Scott.
She made her way down towards them only catching the end of the conversation, "You must really, really hate me," she heard Jackson say.
"Not at all," Allison said.
"You sure? Because-I'm not a bad guy. I mean, yeah, I make stupid mistakes. A lot, but-I'm not bad. I really like you. And-and Scott. I really-I really like you both, and I want you guys to like me. I want to get to know you guys better." When Jackson admitted this, they both looked up to see Elle standing there.
"Hi, sorry to interrupt your bonding session but can I have a word with J, please?" Elle asked, using her nickname for him.
"No no sure of course not," Allison said.
"Thanks," Elle grinned and tugged up the Whittemore boy to pull him down the hall. "So-you want to get to know Scott do you?" Elle asked knowing that was a complete lie.
"I had to say something!" Jackson said throwing his arms out.
"You kinda freaked her out a bit I think actually J," she observed.
"At least I can say that I've tried!"
He wrapped her arms around her pulling her into a warm hug and they both turned their heads into each other's necks and took deep breaths.
Jackson acted like a massive asshole but it's only a front. He truly cares but it's just easier to hide it all away to save him getting hurt again like he did when his parents told him they weren't his real parents.
They pulled away and just stared at each other until Elle broke the silence, "Alright, did Lydia put you up to that?"
"No. Maybe. Alright, yes but only to Allison except when I started the conversation I realised Scott had to be included in that whole 'get to know you better' thing,"
"You are terrible!" she laughed and slapped his chest playfully.
"What can I say, it's just who I am." He sighed before laughing along with her.
"This is a terrible idea." That one statement from Stiles of all people proves it. Him and Scott were at the empty school parking lot awaiting Derek Hale to show up to put their plan in motion.
"Yeah, I know," Scott agreed.
"But we're still gonna do it?"
"Can you think of something better?" the werewolf retorted.
"Well, personally I'm a fan of ignoring a problem until eventually it just goes away," the human advised.
"Just make sure we can get inside," Scott said, temporarily ending the conversation when he noticed Derek's black Camaro pull into the car park, "He's here," when Derek made his way out of his car and over to the two teens Scott asked him, "Where's my boss?"
"He's in the back," Derek grunted with his usual amount of broodiness gesturing to his back seat. Both boys went to take a look and saw Dr. Deaton lying the unconscious with ropes around his wrist and duct tape over his mouth, head resting awkwardly against the opposite door.
"Oh, well, he looks comfortable," Stiles said with his usual level of sarcasm.
Scott hit Stiles' arm as a signal for the to start moving when Derek called out, "Wait. Hey. What are you doing?"
"You said I was linked with the Alpha. I'm gonna see if you're right," explained Scott leaving Derek just standing there.
"Okay, one question. What are you gonna do if the Alpha doesn't show up?" Stiles asked as he manoeuvred his way around the reception desk.
"I don't know."
"And what are you gonna do if he does show up?" Stiles asked again, flicking the switches to work the megaphone.
"I don't know."
"Good plan," another sarcastic comment left his mouth.
"All right. You said that a wolf howls to signal his position to the rest of the pack, right?"
"Right, but if you bring him here, does that make you part of his pack?"
"I hope not."
"Yeah, me too. All right. All you." He placed the megaphone in front of Scott awaiting a howl.
"You've got to be kidding me," Derek sighed as the attempt of a howl reached his super sensitive ears in the car park.
It was slightly amusing but also terribly pathetic because although it meant to sound strong and intimidating, in reality it sounded like a cat being strangled.
"Was that okay? I mean, that was a howl, right?" Scott asked as he finished
"I - yeah, technically." Stiles said, scratching behind his ear.
"Well, what did it sound like to you?
"Like a cat being choked to death, Scott," Stiles said honestly.
"What do I do? How am I supposed to do this?"
"Hey, hey. Listen to me. You're calling the Alpha. All right? Be a man. Be a werewolf, not a teen wolf. Be a werewolf. Do it," the pep talk worked because when Scott tried again, it was low, scary and loud.
"I'm gonna kill both of you. What the hell was that? What are you trying to do, attract the entire state to the school?" Derek fired questions at them, annoyed at what their plan was.
"Sorry. I didn't know it would be that loud," Scott said sheepishly.
"Yeah, it was loud. And it was awesome," Stiles proclaimed, thoroughly excited that his best friend could do that but was quickly shot down, yet again, by Derek.
"Shut up."
"Don't be such a sour wolf," Stiles teased.
"What'd you do with him?" asked Scott when he noticed Dr. Deaton wasn't in the back of the car, door wide open.
"What? I didn't do anything." confessed an extremely confused Derek.
Silently, a creature ran up behind the Hale unnoticed and lifted him up with his claws in Derek's back. Blood spurted out of Derek's mouth as he choked it up in pain. Scott and Stiles ran away when the alpha roared, lifting Derek higher before throwing him into a wall and watching him collapse.