Chapter 12: Nightmare on Beacon Street Part 2
They had just turned a corner and slowed their running when Scott stopped them, asking if they heard anything. Melanie couldn't hear a thing but then figured that Scott was using his werewolf hearing to pick up something that their ears couldn't quite catch.
"It sounds like a phone ringing," Scott said.
"What? Who the hell would be stupid enough to be in here?" Melanie demanded. She paused a beat and then added, "Besides us."
"That's Allison's phone!" Scott gasped.
"Allison?" Melanie repeated. It wasn't that she didn't believe him but..."Why in the world is she here? Are you sure it's her?"
"Yeah, she's not the only one in the world who has that ringtone," Stiles agreed.
"No, it's hers. I know it's hers. I-I can smell her," Scott replied, which earned him strange looks from his companions. Scott set his eyes on Stiles. "Quick, gimmie your phone!"
"You still don't have a new one?" Melanie asked.
Scott ignored her as he jostled Stiles for his. Rolling his eyes, Stiles finally got out his phone and handed it over. Scott nearly snatched it out of his hand and rapidly typed in Allison's number. He furiously ran his hand through his hair and paced as he waited for her to answer. His eyes widened when she finally picked up. "No, it's me, where are you?" Scott demanded. "No, where are you right now?" He didn't seem to like her answer and he asked impatiently, "Where? Where are you exactly? …Get to the lobby. Go now."
"The lobby's this way!" Melanie said, leading the way. If there was one thing she could contribute it was her navigational skills. Her father always said it was like she was born with a compass in her brain. It didn't take long for them to make it out to the lobby. The only light in the room came from the illuminated trophy case not that Melanie needed the help.
A few moments later Allison came in through another doorway and jogged over to the group. Scott's questions burst out of him rapid fire as soon as he lay his eyes on her, "Why did you come? What are you doing here?"
"Because you asked me to," she replied, her eyes staying on Scott's face. Stiles and Melanie could have danced around naked and she wouldn't have given them a passing glance.
"I asked you to?" Scott repeated, confused.
Allison dug in her pocket and produced her phone. She clicked around and brought up something for Scott to read. His lips parted slightly which made Melanie exchange a look with Stiles. Allison read Scott's face and her eyes widened slightly. "…Why do I get the feeling you didn't send this message?" she asked quietly.
"Because I didn't," Scott insisted.
"Did you drive here?" Stiles burst in.
"Jackson did," Allison replied.
Melanie's breath caught in her throat. "Jackson's here too!?" Great, just what they needed, more people running around while a monster was on the prowl.
"And Lydia," Allison replied, clearly losing her patience, "What's going on? Who sent this text?" She glanced down at her phone that had started to ring and brought it up to her ear as she answered, "Where are you?"
They all whirled around as another set of wooden doors opened and Jackson and Lydia burst through. Lydia returned her phone to her purse as they approached the group. "Finally," she said with a sigh. "Can we go now?" Melanie didn't miss the edge to her voice. Whether it was due to seeing the Alpha herself or being stuck in school at night looking for her friends she didn't know.
No one had a chance to move when they heard a creaking above their heads. They all looked up and followed the creaks with their eyes. Then there was a prolonged creaking, like something was about to give. Something like the ceiling.
"Run!" Scott yelled. Stiles grabbed Melanie's hand and they followed Scott and Allison who were ahead of them, Scott pulling Allison along. Behind them plaster and metal crashed to the floor; it thudded once more as the Alpha touched down from crashing through the ceiling. They raced up a nearby flight of stairs and dashed down the hall. The beast chased them the entire way, staying close on their heels. Another exit loomed in front of them; they were running out of time. They had to find a place to hide and quick!
Finally they burst in through the double doors in front of them which dumped them into the cafeteria. Stiles pulled Melanie further away from the door as Lydia, Jackson, Scott, and Allison began stacking the tables and chairs in front of the door. Completely ignoring the full set of windows next to them. Melanie rubbed her face with her hands, as if trying to rub off her fear, as Stiles tried in vain to get everyone's attention. Melanie didn't get it at first, why he was trying to get them to stop blockading the door but then she remembered the car battery sitting in another room. The Alpha could come in but they couldn't get out.
Her blood ran cold.
"Guys!" she called out, trying to get them to listen to Stiles but they were being frantic, still stacking the chairs. "Guys!" she yelled again but they wouldn't listen. She even tried smashing her lacrosse stick against a table but that only made them move faster thinking that the Alpha was coming in from somewhere else.
Stiles continued to try to get their attention until his patience finally ran out and he bellowed, "Hello!" earning four pairs of wide, fear-filled eyes to dart over to him. "Okay, nice work. Really beautiful job, everyone. Now - what should we do about the 20 foot wall of windows?" he asked sarcastically and gestured to the windows.
His point slowly dawned on them and Stiles and Melanie watched as they deflated. Allison was the first to crack, directing her attention to Scott as she pleaded, "Can somebody please explain to me what's going on, because I'm freaking out here. And I would like to know why. Scott?"
Scott pulled away from Allison and joined Stiles and Melanie on the other side of the room. It was then that she noticed a line had been drawn between them and the others. Those in the know and those who knew nothing. A wall of tension filled the space between them as Lydia, Jackson, and Allison stared at them all, waiting for an answer. Melanie held Stiles's gaze and barely inclined her head, letting him know it was okay to say something.
"Somebody killed the janitor," Stiles finally relented.
"What?" Lydia gasped, her voice unnaturally small.
"Yeah, the janitor's dead," Stiles continued.
"What's he talking about? Is this a joke?" Allison asked, a laugh of disbelief wrapping around her words.
"Yeah, Allison, it's a joke!" Melanie snapped, rolling her eyes. "Of course we'd be pulling off an elaborate joke about the janitor being dead!" Jackson shot a glare her way but it didn't faze her, not this time. She had no time to coddle someone, not with The Alpha on the loose.
"Who killed him?" Jackson demanded to know. Melanie and Stiles exchanged a glance. Honestly, they had no idea. They knew it was The Alpha but who the Alpha was they still didn't know.
"No, no, no, no. This was supposed to be over," Lydia said desperately. "The mountain lion killed–"
"No, don't you get it? There wasn't a mountain lion!" Jackson said, exasperated.
"Who was it? What does he want?" Allison asked, her voice cracking slightly due to her desperation. Head tilted down, she rubbed at her hairline while whispering to herself, "What's happening?" Locking her eyes with Scott's back she called out his name in a firm tone, trying to get any sort of information as she could out of him.
"I - I don't know," Scott cracked, finally speaking up, "I - I just - If - if we go out there, he's gonna kill us."
"Us?" Lydia repeated, her voice higher pitched than it was before. "He's gonna kill us?"
"Who?" Allison asked, turning her eyes to Stiles and Melanie who stood by quietly. "Who is it?" she demanded to know when neither of them said anything.
Melanie was about to snap at her, that they didn't know who it was and that they were on the same playing field but Scott beat her to it by blurting out, "It's Derek. It's Derek Hale." Her eyes widened, silently asking him what in the world he was thinking but Scott evaded her gaze. She tried to think of what was going through his mind but nothing came out. Certainly keeping the killer anonymous would be a better option than choosing to drop a false name.
"Derek killed the janitor?" Jackson asked.
Allison let out a noise of disbelief. "Are you sure?"
"I saw him," Scott replied.
"The mountain li–" Lydia started but Scott cut her off by yelling that Derek had killed them.
"All of them?" Allison asked, her eyes wide with disbelief.
"Yeah," Scott insisted, "starting with his own sister."
"The bus driver?" Allison asked.
"And the guy in the video store - it's been Derek the whole time. He's in here with us. And if we don't get out now - He's going to kill us too."
Melanie stood by and watched as an argument swiftly escalated. Jackson wanted Stiles to call the cops but Stiles refused to do so claiming that they didn't know what Derek was armed with and that bringing in police officers may not help. Lydia didn't want to sit by and do nothing so she ended up calling the police herself only to be hung up on warning her that she would be arrested if they call again. Allison wanted them to call again but Stiles shot down that idea claiming that they would send a car to their houses before they sent on to the school. That answer didn't sit right with Allison.
"What the—what - what is this? Why does Derek wanna kill us? Why is he killing anyone?" she asked, her voice shaking in fear.
Melanie swung her eyes over to Stiles. Stiles then looked over at Scott. That prompted everyone else to turn to look at him. As if just noticing the silence he lifted his head and turned to find five pairs of eyes trained on him. "Why's everyone looking at me?" he asked.
"Is he the one that sent her the text?" Lydia asked.
"No. I mean, I don't know," Scott replied.
"Is he the one that called the police?" Allison asked.
"I don't know!" Scott exploded.
"Hey, guys, Scott doesn't have all the answers here," Melanie spoke up, trying to ease the tension rising in the room. She could almost see Scott's heart breaking over yelling at Allison. She didn't seem to be taking it well either. "None of us do. We're all in the same boat; we don't know anything."
"That's not new with you, is it Crowe?" Jackson asked, rolling his eyes.
"Now is not the time for this, Jackson!" she snapped, brandishing her stick in front of her. "I have no problem with shoving his horizontally up your nose!"
"Oh yeah, like I'm scared of a munchkin," he said, pushing her stick aside. Clearing his throat he broke up Stiles' and Scott's heated discussion, "Okay, assheads - new plan. Stiles calls his useless dad and tells him to send someone with a gun and decent aim. Are we good with that?"
Melanie glared at him. His rude behavior was not necessary, especially not now. Of course, this was Jackson, he wouldn't be nice to anyone even if they were breathing their dying breaths, which they very well might be doing. She gritted her teeth and a burst of anger shot through her. Her fingers curled tightly into a fist by her side and she squeezed so hard she swore she felt her knuckles popping.
"He's right," Scott spoke up, "tell him the truth if you have to, just - just call him."
"I'm not watching my dad get eaten alive," Stiles said firmly.
"Would you want us to die in his place?" Melanie asked. Stiles looked at her. He looked torn. On one hand it was his dad on but on the other it was his friends and the girl he was in love with. He didn't make his decision fast enough for Jackson strode forward, making the decision for him.
"All right, give me the phone," he ordered, grabbing Stiles's shoulder. Stiles whirled around and punched Jackson across the face. He fell over as Allison rushed to his side.
Melanie backed away, her eyebrows rising at the sight of Jackson doubled over and then at the barely hidden expression of satisfaction on Stiles's face. She whistled. "Dude…you have not turned me on more than you have in that moment," she commented, her mouth turning up in the corners in surprise as Jackson held his nose.
Stiles gave a humorless laugh as he shook out his hand and then went for his phone himself. Staring Jackson down he pressed number two on his speed dial and waited. "Dad, hey, it's me. And it's your voice mail. Look, I need you to call me back now. Like, right now." Melanie jumped at the sudden crashing behind the door. She shuffled forward, grabbed Lydia's arm, and pulled her away while holding her stick out in front of her. "We're at the school. Dad, we're at the school."
They watched in horror as the bangs on the door grew in intensity and the screws holding the locks in began to pop out. Lydia slipped out of Melanie's grasp and cowered behind Jackson and Allison stepped closer to Scott's side. Melanie didn't want to have to try and use her stick but it seemed as if she was going to need it now to buy them some time. Her grip tightened on the shaft, her eyes trained on the door watching for any little push, any little creak against the door.
"The kitchen. The door out of the kitchen leads to the stairwell," Stiles stated aloud, taking their attention from the door.
"Which only goes up," Scott pointed out.
"Up is better than here."
Another loud bang hit the door which jump-started them all to run towards the back door. Melanie paused long enough to look over her shoulder to lock eyes with The Alpha on the other side of the door. The glowing red eyes made her freeze in place, captivated, stirring something inside her and she only kept going when Stiles tugged her along and out the room. She could hear that The Alpha had burst into the cafeteria behind them but she kept running with the rest of the group.
They charged up a flight of stairs which took them up to the second floor. One in the hall they tried the closest door on their left but that was locked. Lydia tried the one on their right and they all burst into the Chemistry classroom.
"Man, I don't even like being in here while school's in session," Melanie groaned as Scott hastily propped a chair beneath the door handle. For a moment the sound of them panting was the only noise in the room as they looked around at one another. But then they heard it. The Alpha's growl. They all sucked in their breaths as it slowly walked by the door, its shadow taking up the glass window on the door before it walked past. They all let out sighs of relief.
A hard nudge to her shoulder made her turn to face Scott. "Can you do anything?" he asked.
Her eyebrows lifted. "Like what?"
"I don't know. ...Throw wolfsbane at it or something?"
"I don't walk around with it in my pocket, Scott. The laws of nature would come after me in more ways than one." Though his question did make her take pause. Why didn't she have wolfsbane on her? The existence of werewolves in Beacon Hills surely meant that there had to be some sort of steady supply of wolfsbane. And yet here she stood, Melanie Crowe: Supernatural Expert, and she hadn't even thought of that. To be fair to herself it wasn't as if she had time to really think about werewolves and what their existence meant. Still, she wished she could be a bit more useful. It was with a startling realization that she just didn't know how. People always said if they were in situations they'd know what they would do in a heartbeat. She wished they were there instead of her at the moment.
"Jackson, how many people can fit in your car?" Scott whispered.
"Five, if someone squeezes on someone's lap," Jackson replied.
Stiles immediately whipped his head over to Melanie who lifted an eyebrow. "Don't even think about it," she grumbled, her cheeks burning at the memory of launching herself onto the lap of one Isaac Lahey.
"Five? I barely fit in the back," Allison hissed.
"Besides, I still have my truck out there, I can take some people too," Melanie pointed out. And for a brief moment her mind turned to Derek, wondering just how he was going to get out of their without anyone seeing him.
"It doesn't matter. There's no getting out without drawing attention," Stiles pointed out.
"What about this?" Scott asked, motioning Stiles and Melanie towards another door in the classroom. "This leads to the roof. We can go down the fire escape to the parking lot in, like, seconds."
"That's a deadbolt," Melanie pointed out.
"The janitor has a key," Scott realized.
"You mean his body has it," Stiles corrected him.
Scott lowered his voice and said, "I can get it. I can find him by scent, by blood."
"Well, gee, that sounds like an incredibly terrible idea. What else you got?" Stiles said sarcastically.
"I'm getting the key," Scott said firmly, moving around Stiles and Melanie. He didn't say it quiet enough since Allison stopped him, asking if he was serious. "Well, it's the best plan. Someone has to get the key if we wanna get out of here."
"You can't go out there unarmed," Allison said firmly.
Melanie glanced down at the stick in her hands. She had worked so hard to get on the team. Her parents had paid for everything she asked for just to get a chance. And now she had it. But she wouldn't still have it if they were all killed. She closed her eyes, took in a breath, and tapped Scott's shoulder with it. "Here. Take it before I change my mind," she said, holding her stick out to him. "But please try and bring it back in one piece."
Jackson snorted. "Not like you'll need it," he commented.
That's it! "I'm warning you, Whittemore!" she growled, starting forward but Stiles held her back.
Scott took the stick and spun it in his hands, getting used to the weight. He then noticed the disapproving expression on Allison's face. "Well, it's better than nothing," he rationed.
"There's gotta be something else," Stiles sighed.
"There is," Lydia said simply, lifting her chin in the direction of the case behind him.
"What are we gonna do? Throw acid on him?" Melanie asked. Though she was sure that Mr. Harris didn't just keep something like that sitting somewhere were any one could use it.
"No," Lydia replied like the answer was obvious, "Like a fire bomb. In there is everything you need to make a self-igniting molotov cocktail."
"Self-igniting—" Stiles started to repeat.
"Molotov cocktail," Lydia repeated, her words crisp.
"That's…not creepy," Melanie commented, making a face at the conviction Lydia used.
Lydia the noticed that everyone was staring at her. "What? I read it somewhere."
"We don't have a key for that either," Stiles pointed out.
Jackson's eyes turned up to the ceiling then he braced his fist with his palm and then bashed the glass with his elbow. "Hmm, so you are useful," Melanie muttered. He ignored her jab and pulled out the bottles that Lydia instructed him to get.
They watched in silence as she measured and poured together the ingredients she needed into a beaker, barely giving it a second thought. As if she had done this before or she was going off a recipe that had been handed down in her family. Melanie hummed. She was a tad too precise at it. Before long she swished the contents in the bottle around and corked it, handing it over to Scott.
"No. No, this is insane, you can't do this. You cannot go out there," Allison protested, her voice hitching.
"We can't just sit here waiting for Stiles' dad to check his messages," Scott reasoned.
"I could go too." The words came out of Melanie's mouth before she could stop them. Nut up or shut up, she told herself. "I mean, I do have a weapon. Kid of." She motioned to her lacrosse stick. It was a bit of a crazy idea but at least it was something. And two-verses-one were better odds pointed in their favor. She may not have werewolf abilities like Scott did but she knew how to use her stick and use it well. He couldn't keep doing this alone. She gulped down the lump of fear that threatened to make her take back her suggestion but the way Scott looked at her told her that he had already nixed it.
"You could die. Don't you get that? He's killed three people."
"Somebody has to do something," Scott added.
"Scott, just stop," Allison begged, her voice heavy with unspoken emotions. "Do you remember - do you remember when you told me you knew whether or lying? That I had a tell. Well, so do you. You're a horrible liar. And you've been lying all night." Her voice raised and lowered in volume as her emotions began to take over and unshed tears lined up on the lower rim of her eyelids. "Just - just please - please don't go. Please don't leave us. Please."
"Allison, for crying out loud, someone has to go out there and try something. Unless you would rather us play a large waiting game with that fucking thing that's going to try and kill us anyway. Scott's already made up his damn mind and he's going to give us a fighting chance. Let him go!" Melanie said, throwing her arms into the air. Her stress, her worry, her fears finally uncorked into the rushed sentence that hung in the air. She ignored the way Stiles was looking at her and ignored the amused expression on Jackson's face at her outburst. But she couldn't help it. Allison was being so selfish and self-centered that it rubbed the last of her nerves raw. He clenched her teeth together and crossed her arms again, as if restraining herself. Someone had to do it. Even so, a moment later, she felt the thick shroud of embarrassment and shame hang over her shoulders like a thick wool blanket.
An uncomfortable silence stretched on that was broken by Allison's sobbing breaths. Scott's jaw set; his mind had been made. "Lock it behind me," he ordered and started to walk away but Allison pulled him back to kiss him. He looked so torn after breaking away from her but he still turned away and went out the door.
All that was left to do was to wait.
The silence was becoming unbearable. The only other sound was Allison's sporadic sobs as she tried to calm herself down from her crying fit. Her whispered questions stopped ages ago, thankfully, and she resorted to messing with the hem of her sleeves as some sort of distraction. Stiles moved so he was leaning against a wall by Allison. Jackson leaned against the table she was sitting on and Lydia sat atop of it next to her.
Melanie was the only one away from the group. The realization became a little too tough for her to face so she kept busy. She messed with her abandoned lacrosse stick, tossing an extra cork into the air only to catch it and toss it up again. Catch, toss, catch, toss, catch, toss, it became a rhythm. She didn't break it even when she peered across the room and noticed Jackson comforting Allison. Jackson comforting Allison. It was a jarring sight, especially since Lydia, Jackson's girlfriend, was sitting nearby. If that was what relationships were about she wasn't sure she wanted to be in one.
"Jackson, you handed me the sulfuric acid, right?" Lydia's voice broke the new bout of silence that settled over them. "It has to be sulfuric acid. It won't ignite if it's not."
Jackson rolled his eyes. "I gave you exactly what you asked for tonight," he snapped.
"Yeah," Lydia said slowly, looking at the side of his face since he turned away, "Yeah, I'm sure you did."
Melanie's eyes shifted over to the bottles that they had messed with. Two amber colored bottles sat next to one another. She couldn't read their labels from there but it was easy to see that a mistake could have been made and the wrong bottle could have been picked up. She was just glad that Lydia hadn't asked her to get the acid. She turned her attention back to the cork as it fell back down but she hadn't recovered in time. It fell to the floor and bounced around before rolling to a stop at her feet. "Oops," she muttered. She dropped down from the stool she had been sitting on, picked it up, climbed back onto the stool, and started catching the cork again.
"Don't you care?" Allison asked. Melanie turned to see who she was talking to and noticed that her eyes were trained on her.
"Sorry?" Melanie asked.
"Don't you care?" Allison repeated. "Don't you care about anything other than working on your lacrosse stuff?"
"Of course I care," Melanie said stiffly, still tossing and catching the cork.
"Scott's out there risking his neck and the only thing you're doing is…is practicing!" Allison pointed out.
Melanie rolled her eyes and let out an exasperated breath "Trust me; I've noticed that Scott is out there. There's nothing else to do in here but wait and I would rather take my time to do something while I'm waiting instead of wondering incessantly where Scott is."
Allison sniffed and looked away. "You have a funny way of showing it, that's all."
Melanie's temper flared before she could rein it in. She felt a fire burn in her belly and Allison got caught in her crosshairs. "Excuse me for not falling all over the goddamn floor wondering where he is," she spat. "Worrying and whining is not going to make a difference as to what happens. Scott's my friend and maybe in your eyes being his girlfriend makes you more important or more entitled to worry about him but just because I'm not vocal about it doesn't mean I don't care. I've known him longer than you have, new hirl, so don't you fucking dare come in here and try to tell me what is or isn't an appropriate amount to worry about a friend because you know jack shit!"
A stunned silence fell over the room and it was underneath the stifling silence that shame hit her all at once, causing a flush to crawl up her neck. Stiles looked half amused and half shocked, Allison looked as if she had been kicked in the stomach, Jackson's bored expression never changed, and Lydia's eyes darted around the room. Of course it was Jackson that would be the one to break the silence. "Hmm, maybe if you were this vocal in bed you would have made first line after all," Jackson commented nonchalantly.
Flames burst inside her, took over every inch of her body as a voice yelled kill, kill, kill! in her mind. Before Melanie knew what she was doing she had launched herself over the desk in front of her and was flying towards Jackson but Stiles caught her in mid air and carried her back to her seat, thrashing all the way and threatening to cut off Jackson's balls and use that for lacrosse practice instead.
"Whoa, easy. Easy girl," Stiles said as he set her back down on her stool. He held his hand out to her, as if to block her escape as he grabbed another stool and carried it over. He set it down, sighed, rubbed his hands on the knees of his jeans, and peered at her. "What's going on?" he asked softly.
"Nothing," Melanie muttered, lifting her arm to brush her sleeve against her eyes. "S'nothing."
"No, it's something," Stiles replied. "You basically attacked Allison for no reason. It's unlike you/"
Melanie scoffed. "Not nothing. She's acting like a nitwit who can't function like a normal human being without Scott by her side," she hissed.
"Yeah, she might," Stiles said while rubbing his chin, "but that didn't mean you had to call her out like that."
Melanie set her stick down on the black table top and looked Stiles in the eye. "She questioned how much I cared about Scott and what he was doing," she said, her voice beginning to shake. Whether it was due to suppressed rage or suppressed tears she didn't know. She didn't want to pinpoint it either. "She questioned it, Stiles. Of course I care about Scott. I care about all my friends." She sighed. "That's the fucking problem."
Stiles blinked. "I don't get it."
"Your best friend is here. Scott's best friend is here. Allison's best friend is here. Lydia's best friend is here. Jackson's girlfriend is here," Melanie counted, ticking off her fingers as she went. "Do you want to know what's wrong with this picture?" she asked while holding up her hand.
"Uh…that it's not a full picture?" Stiles guessed, scratching his head.
Melanie rolled her eyes. "That there's one extra," she replied, holding up her index finger on her other hand to show six fingers. "Me. All of your friends are here. And where's mine? Huh? Where's my best friend? Oh, that's right. She's at home not talking to me and probably never going to talk to me ever again whether I make it out of here alive." Her eyes began to itch due to the hot tears that threatened to spill over her cheeks but she tilted her head back, as if that was going to keep them in. All the anger and frustration and sadness she felt the past couple of days allowed her words to fall easily from her lips. "My best friend doesn't even know where I am right now. And I don't even know if she'll care because we got into a stupid fight." Her shoulders began to shake as she tried to hold it all in but her resolve was quickly fading as her tears slipped down her cheeks. "My best friend doesn't care. And while you all have your friends here…I may die…not letting her know how much I love her and how much I miss her and how much I want us to be friends again and how much I can't take her being mad at me. I just…I can't take it. I can't! It's not fair!"
"Hey, ssssh. It'll be okay," Stiles said gently. He reached out and wrapped his arms around her, pulling her close as her body wracked with sobs. He rubbed her back and ran his fingers through her hair to calm her down. The feeling of his fingertips brushing against her scalp made a shiver roll down her spine and her muscles begin to relax. It was like she was younger and her mom was calming her down after having fallen off her bike and scraping her knee. "Everything will be okay. Ssssh. Scott will figure something out, he always does. And you and your friend will make up and everything will be fine. I mean, who wouldn't want to be friends with you?"
"Her apparently," she replied, her voice muffled by his shirt. She sniffed and blew out a hot breath.
"Hey, if Scott and I can get through our fights you two can too." Melanie lifted her head and smiled sadly at him. "Alright? No more crying?" he asked, brushing her tears away with his thumbs. "Good, 'cause this is as much sympathy as you're' going to get out of me. My specialty is ice cream and tissues." She managed to laugh as he rubbed her shoulder. "What did you two fight about anyway?"
"You," Melanie replied. His eyebrows crinkled in confusion. "See, she felt as if…" she paused. She didn't want to out Erica's crush to Stiles but how else was she going to explain their fight. She clicked her tongue and brushed her hair out of her face. "It's just…she, ah, she thought that I was replacing her for you and Scott since she saw us texting so much because of the thing." She widened her eyes at the word 'thing' to get her point across without having to say the word.
Thankfully Stiles caught on. "Ah, yeah. I know about that," he said with a sigh. "So, just…maybe talk it out? Or whatever you girls do. If she's really your friend she'll understand that you can have more than one friend." A smug smile appeared on his face as he added, "Not that I blame you for taking us in."
She rolled her eyes. "Yeah, you're a real catch." She sniffed again. She felt a little better; her shoulders didn't carry as much weight anymore but as she glanced over at Allison who seemed to be trying a little too hard to avoid her gaze, the brief respite she had came crushing back at full force. Stiles was right, it was unlike her. She preferred to build people up than to tear them down. And, as much as she wanted to claim that it was the situation that ignited her flame, that wasn't the right scapegoat to point fingers at. She knew that but, also, she wasn't so sure she wanted to confront it.
Then it happened. The Alpha's loud howl rocketed through the building causing them all to cover their ears at the noise. All of them except Jackson. His hand flew up to the back of his neck and he fell down to his knees. Amidst them all calling out for him he began screaming in pain.
Allison and Lydia knelt and lifted Jackson back to his feet as Stiles got up and approached him. Almost as soon as he started screaming he stopped and rubbed the back of his neck. "No, I'm fine. Like, seriously, I'm okay," he said, shrugging them away.
"That didn't sound okay at all," Allison stated.
"What's on the back of your neck?" Stiles asked, pointing at it. Jackson slapped his hand away. "Dude, it looks bad."
"I said I'm fine," Jackson growled.
"It's been there for days," Lydia informed them. "He won't tell me what happened."
"As if you actually care," Jackson hissed, his voice borderline venomous. Melanie noticed the flash of pain in Lydia's eyes before it disappeared.
"All right, can we not argue for half a second here?" Stiles asked, exasperated.
Allison ran a hand through her hair as she backed towards the door. "Where's Scott? He should be back by now," she murmured. And then there was a peculiar sound. Like a key breaking in a lock. They all turned towards the door to see Scott standing there.
Allison, the closest to the door, called out for him and started to frantically jiggle the door handle to get out. She wrenched the handle up and down, continuing to scream his name and knocked on the door.
"Stop. Stop!" Lydia yelled, successfully stopping Allison's frantic efforts to get out. "Do you hear that? Listen!"
They all stopped to hear what it was that Lydia heard. It was faint at first but then it grew louder by the second. Sirens. They all raced towards the window and stuck their heads out to see police cars swarming in the parking lot.
They all let out sighs of relief. They were finally free of the nightmare.
The police stormed inside and they had to wait for them to break down the door to get to them. Sheriff Stilinski immediately went to check if Stiles was okay before going around the group and then lead them outside into the crisp night air. Melanie took a deep breath, let it inflate her lungs, and breathed out slowly. It felt so good to be alive.
# # #
She crossed her arms over her chest and stood by her truck as she waited or Sheriff Stilinski to come out with Scott and Stiles. Stiles decided to stay inside and wait for them to get to Scott while the others were escorted out. Lydia and Jackson stayed huddled together and Allison stood near them. When she and Melanie locked eyes they immediately looked away and then looked back up at the school building. Finally the door opened and Sheriff Stilinski stepped out with Scott and Stiles on his heels. Melanie ran over to them.
"And you're sure it was Derek Hale?" Sheriff Stilinski was asking as Melanie approached.
"Yes," Scott replied.
"I saw him too," Stiles aid which made Melanie's face twisted in confusion. Why were they still going on with the lie? They knew the Alpha wasn't Derek. It wasn't going to make things easier for Scott to accuse him. But Melanie kept her mouth shut and waited to get closer.
"What about the janitor?" Scott asked.
"We're still looking," Sheriff Stilinski replied.
"Did you check under the bleachers? Under them?" Scott stressed.
"Yeah, Scott, we looked. We pulled them out just like you asked, there's nothing."
"I'm not making this up!" he insisted.
"I know. I believe you, I do," Sheriff Stilinski replied, turning once he was at the bottom of the stairs.
"No, you don't," Scott huffed. "You have this look like you feel bad for me. Like you wanna believe me, but I know you don't."
"Listen - we're gonna search this whole school. We're gonna find him. Okay? I promise."
Sheriff Stilinski was called over by one of the police officers and he ordered both Scott and Stiles to stay put. Melanie took that as her cue to rush forward and throw her arms around Scott's neck. "Thank God you're okay," she breathed into his warm skin as he hugged her back. Pulling away, she stepped back, held him by his arms, and looked him up and down. "You are okay, right?"
"Yeah, I am," he replied.
Nodding, Melanie stepped next to Stiles and rested her head on his shoulder. Suddenly she was really tired, everything from the day came crashing down on her and pulled her eyelids down. Stiles lifted his arm and draped it around her shoulders as he said, "Well, we survived, dude. You know? We outlasted the alpha. It's still good, right? Being alive?"
What should have been a celebratory moment wasn't. Tension was still thick in the air, pressing down on their shoulders. It kept Scott's eyes dark, like a hood had been pulled over his face and shielded him. Kept him from being able to shake it away.
Melanie frowned. Her eyes roamed his face, taking in every twitch of the muscle beneath his taught skin. "What's up?" she asked, sensing his distress.
"When we were in the chemistry room, he walked right by us," Scott pointed out. "You don't think that it heard us? You don't think it knew exactly where we were?"
"Well, then how come we're still alive?" Stiles asked.
"It wants me in its pack." The distress on his face intensified. "But I think, first - I have to get rid of my old pack."
"What do you mean? What old pack?" Stiles asked the question that shot through Melanie's mind. Packs were of those of his kind, weren't they? And they were all humans, so they couldn't count. Right?
"Allison. Jackson, Lydia," Scott listed. His eyes shifted over to Melanie and she gulped. She didn't like the way he was looking at her, in sadness and regret. "Melanie." She bit down on her lip and her eyes dropped as fast as her heart. "You," he directed at Stiles.
Stiles's mouth fell open. He looked as if his world had just crumbled around him. How was someone supposed to process that? That their friend was going to have to get rid of their friends to survive? Melanie had to give him credit; he reacted much calmer than she would have if her best friend told her the same thing. But it was the look of realization, of reluctant acceptance that made her take pause more than what conclusion his mind had come to. "The alpha doesn't wanna kill us."
Scott sighed and turned away. Melanie's eyes moved back and forth between the two and then realization hit her with a sickening thud in her chest. "It wants me to do it," Scott spoke, his back to them, his voice as soft as the air that brushed against them. "And that's not even the worst part."
"How in holy hell is that not the worst part, Scott?" Stiles asked, exasperated. The worry in his voice didn't go unmissed by them.
"Because when he made me shift - I wanted to do it. I wanted to kill you. All of you."
Melanie swallowed the lump in her throat, reached out her hand, and squeezed his. "But you didn't," she pointed out. Her words weren't as much of a comfort as she was going for since Scott still, dejectedly, looked down at his feet and Stiles rubbed his hands over his head. She wished there was something she could say to make everything better, something she could do but she was as powerless now as she was in the classroom and she could only sit back and watch from afar.
When Scott finally lifted his head it wasn't to offer comforting words or encouragement that he would never do such a thing, no, it was to see his boss sitting in the back of an ambulance getting treated by EMTs. Melanie stayed behind as Stiles and Scott rushed over to them. She crossed her arms over her chest, trying to shrink away from the cold air and gazed around the parking lot.
Jackson and Lydia were leaning against his car. His arms were wrapped tightly around her as she buried her face into his chest. His eyes were closed tight, his cheek pressed against the side of her head. They didn't move. They didn't speak. They just held one another, glad to have survived the night and still have one another. Melanie pressed her lips together. She always wondered what it was that made them interested in one another and then date one another and then become a couple. Jackson was a harsh, sharp-tongued, judgmental boy while she was a mentally sharp, fearless, and sassy force of nature. But before her eyes she finally saw it.
Love. They loved each other. They accepted each other's flaws without question and loved each other regardless. No matter how many times Jackson put her down or how many times Lydia verbally stroked his fears of being inferior they did care for each other a lot. More than anyone she had ever seen before. More than her own parents.
Startled, Melanie blinked and shook her head from side to side, ignoring the ache as she tried to dislodge the offending thought. But it was stuck. It dug its claws into her brain and stayed rooted to the spot, holding on with all its might, jump starting the ache in her chest. How was that possible? That two students, that two kids had a better grasp of love than her own parents?
She tore her eyes away. They landed on a new sight, of Allison and Scott talking to one another. But the love there was gone. Her arms were crossed, blocking his words. Her face was set in stone, dodging his emotions. The air around her was cold, much colder than the actual wind blowing around; Melanie could feel it all the way from where she stood. Desperation leaked out of every orifice on Scott's body and through the way he held himself up and leaned towards her. Melanie could tell what was happening before his body broke down, crushed by Allison's words.
She gritted her teeth and tensed her muscles to stay where she was despite the overwhelming urge to do something. Surely her yelling at Allison before didn't help matters. She took one step forward and then stopped herself, spinning around on the spot as she grabbed at her hair, trying to reason with herself that whatever was going on wasn't her problem. But Scott looked so sad…
"Do you want me to talk to her?" Melanie didn't even realize the words had come out of her mouth or that she had moved to Scott's side. She blinked and she was just there. Even so she still nodded her head over in Allison's direction where she stood by the exit of the parking lot, looking up the street to see if her father's car was coming.
"I-I don't know. I don't…" Scott's didn't finish his sentence, or couldn't. His face crumpled in pain as he grabbed at his hair. Melanie patted his arm and made the choice for him.
She jogged across the parking lot towards the girl but slowed as she approached. What was she going to say? 'Hey, sorry that I lost my patience with you and bit your head off all because you were concerned about your boyfriend like a normal human being?' Yeah, that was going to go over well. Because Allison was worried and that was fine and justified but... But what? She was envious? Even if she were, what was it that brought out such an evil side of her? Thankfully she didn't have to worry for long for the first thing that shot out of her mouth when she was within earshot of Allison was, "So, crazy night, right?" Allison glanced at her over her shoulder, an unreadable expression on her feet. Melanie tapped the sides of her closed hands together and ran her tongue along her teeth but that didn't stop her word-vomit. "Being chased around by some psycho creature. And at school of all places! These things only happen in TV, right? …S'weird."
Allison tossed her hair over her shoulder. "What do you want?" she demanded, cutting through the small talk. "Did Scott send you over here?"
"No, I came over myself," Melanie replied, shoving her hands into her pockets. "I wanted to…apologize," she uttered. "For….y'know, for what I said." She winced and looked down at her feet. "Well, yelled."
"What did I do to you?" Allison asked, her voice thick with restrained emotion. What? Melanie lifted her head. The intensity behind Allison's stern gaze made her take a step back. "What did I ever do to you?
"Nothing," Melanie admitted, sighing heavily.
"Well, you clearly don't like me—"
"It's not that."
"—so I must have done something to you."
"I…you…" Melanie growled, tilting her head back so it was directed up at the sky. "Allison, you transferred in at the beginning of the new semester and fit in right away. Like you've been here forever. Like you've always been a part of Beacon Hills. You…you're smart, you're kind, you're annoyingly pretty"—Allison cracked a smile—"you have the best clothes, you became friend with Lydia right off the bat, you got Scott enamored with you in no time flat, you—"
"Wasn't this supposed to be an apology?" Allison cut in.
Melanie huffed. "It is. I just…okay. Allison, I know I came off as crass back in there. It had nothing to do with you; I was mad and scared that…that I would die without making up with my best friend. And I was mad that you all had someone there with you and I didn't. And…and seeing you and Scott so worried about each other and everything…I exploded." And everything comes so easy for you. "And I'm was wrong. I am wrong. So…I'm sorry."
Allison clicked her tongue. She brushed her hair behind her ear and looked at Melanie from beneath her eyelashes. "Is this…are you, I mean…do you like Scott?"
"I liked his muffin, people!" Melanie cried out, throwing her arms into the air. "His muffin! …And I realize now that that's not the best thing to yell out loud."
Allison giggled. "Yeah, probably not," she agreed. She scratched behind her ear. "It kinda sucks, though…" she mused aloud.
"What?" Melanie asked, afraid of what she was going to say.
"It's just that…I kinda thought we got along sometimes. I thought we could be friends." Allison rocked back and forth on her feet, lowered her voice and said, "Between you and me, Lydia's my best friend and all, but sometimes I need a break from her."
"Yeah, but you have Scott for that," Melanie replied.
The smile on Allison's face slowly faded and she pursed her lips. "Had," she corrected. "I, uh, broke up with him. I guess…"
"Ah," Melanie replied. There was nothing else she could say to that. She had never dumped anyone or been dumped by anyone or been with anyone so she didn't know how to tread that ground. She found herself awkwardly patting Allison on the back as some sort of solution. "Maybe…we can…try…" Melanie offered.
Allison's eyes clouded over in confusion. "Uh…I'm not into girls, Melanie," she stated.
"That wasn't what I was suggesting," Melanie replied. "I meant maybe we can give being friends a shot."
Allison blinked. "Really?"
"Yes, although I have to be honest it's partially because you have some clothes that I've had my eye on and also I want an excuse to see your dad." At Allison's head tilt she continued, "Dude, he's effin' hot."
"Oh my god, shut up!" Allison cried out, slapping her on the arm.
"Hey, I can't help it. The Argents have good genes," Melanie defended, holding her hands up. The smile slowly faded from her face. She glanced over her shoulder to see Scott staring at them and sighed. "But, hey, with the Scott thing…he was really only trying to protect us, okay? Just…just remember that." Allison nodded but she didn't seem convinced. Melanie nodded herself and began to back away from her. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a friend to win back."
a/n - Well? What did you think? I loved writing this chapter, if you couldn't tell. Not only because I thought this was a fun episode but also because of the Allison/Melanie scene at the end. You get a glimpse of why Melanie is a bit frosty with Allison but friendly with her at the same time. (Also I wasn't exactly a fan of how they wrote Allison in this episode and that kinda came out. To me she wouldn't be that whiny and impatient but, then again, people act differently when their mortality is presented to them). Like everyone else, their dynamic is something that I find very interesting to write and something that I will continue to touch on and develop in the future.
And for those who are rootin' for Erica and Melanie to make up, just wait for the next chapter!
Also, if you'd like story updates or want to see some gif sets or edits for the story go to my tumblr [ceruleanmusings dot tumblr dot com] and search for the teen wolf or underneath it all tag. I'll have plenty of sneak peeks and stuff there. Also message me there or here if you have any questions! I love talking to you guys.
**Revised 3/2/18**
