Perishable:
If the morning light streaming in the windows hadn't woken me up, then the tickling sensation running up and down my spine probably would have. A small smile spread across my lips as I buried my face into the pillow and the events of last night replayed over in my mind when I remembered where I was. I could feel Derek's heavy arm draped around my waist, his fingers playing idly with the hem of his shirt that I had appropriated and his lips ghosting over the nape of my neck.
"Is there a reason you're trying to wake me up?" I asked the man behind me in a hoarse voice with my eyes still closed and I felt his chuckle vibrate through me as his teeth gently scaped my skin.
"I was bored." He replied quietly he gently pulled me back against his bare chest and I breathed out a laugh as I rested out behind me to tangle my fingers in his hair.
"Is that all I am to you? Entertainment?"
"Why else would I keep you around?" he joked rhetorically as he forcibly rolled me onto my back and I gasped in surprise at the sudden movement as my eyes flew open. Derek hovered over me with a smug smirk on his lips as our legs tangled together under the sheet and I shivered at the heated gleam in his light green eyes.
"I suppose there are worse things than being used by someone so… mm-hmm, deliciously sexy." I whispered huskily as I gently dragged my nails tauntingly down his chest and he hummed in acknowledgment with his eyebrows raised slightly as he nodded once.
A delighted gasp left my lips when he slipped his hands underneath my shirt, sparks erupted over my skin where he touched and he smirked naughtily at me as he lowered his head down to my neck. His stubbled scratched against my skin as he placed an opened mouth kiss against my collarbone and I tilted my head to give him better access as I laced my fingers through his dark hair. One of his hands travelled down my side until he reached the back of my knee and he guided my leg around his hip as he settled in between my legs comfortably. His other hand found mine as our fingers intertwined and he continued to press a line of kisses down my throat until he reached the top of my shirt.
"Okay, as hot as it is to wear your clothes, this has got to go." I murmured in a rush while trying to catch my breath as I reached for the hem of the shirt and he pulled back slightly so that I had enough room to throw the shirt on the ground somewhere.
Derek chuckled throatily as he gripped my jaw gently and pressed his lips to mine with enough passion to make me tighten my legs around his waist. I draped my arms around his neck as I arched into him in an effort to touch as much of him as possible and he splayed his hands over my bare stomach, his touch making fireworks erupt over my skin. I moaned out loud in protest when he detached our lips but he quickly trailed a path of opened mouth kisses down my jaw until he reached my pulse point. I sucked in a pleased hiss when he sucked harshly before swirling his tongue on the damaged skin and I reached up behind me to grip the pillow under my head with both hands, my fingers twisting in the fabric.
My eyes fluttered closed in pleasure as his lips travelled lowered down to the top of my breast and I arched into him eagerly as I bit down on my lower lip to stop from gasping out loud but then remembered that we were alone in the loft, "Oh, god."
I could feel his warm breath on my bare stomach as I clutched the pillow tighter in anticipation but a loud knock on the loft front door echoed through the bedroom and I groaned out loud in annoyance. Derek sighed heavily in disappointment as he rolled off of me and I pouted at him as he stood up from the edge of the bed. I watched him unapologetically as he pulled on a pair of tracksuit pants and he shot me a heated look that promised a continuation as he strolled out of the room. I giggled slightly with a grin as I rolled over to bury my face in the pillow and breathed in the scent of Derek that lingered on the fabric.
After a moment, I rolled over to check the time of the alarm clock and sighed out loud when I saw the bright red letters reading 7.00am. I swung my legs over the edge of the bed as I brushed some of my unruly brunette hair out of my eyes and I picked up Derek's abandoned t-shirt as I stood up before slipping it on over my head.
I hummed in contentment as I started wandering towards the main floor of the loft to see who was at the door and to let Derek now that we had a change in plans regarding our extracurricular activities. "Hey, Der, I'm going to go take a shower. You're more than welcome to join – "
I cut myself off instantly when I lifted my head and saw who exactly was standing in the middle of the loft's longue room. A blushed spread across my cheeks when I saw Scott, Lydia and Jordan standing in the middle of the room with varying degrees of embarrassment on their expressions.
Scott had a grimace on his face as he steadied avoided looking in my direction, Lydia had her lips pursed together like she was attempting not to laugh and Jordan was rubbing the back of his neck with a blush as he tried not to glance at my bare legs. Derek raised his eyebrows at me in amusement as I tugged at the hem of the shirt I was wearing and I internally praised myself for put on underwear last night.
"Morning." I mumbled in embarrassment as I waved one hand sheepishly and Lydia raised her hand back at me as I pointed my thumb over my shoulder towards the makeshift bedroom. "I'm just – I'm gonna go put some clothes on."
"Probably a good idea. Some of your clothes are in the chest of drawers." Derek informed me with a small smirk as he pointed towards the bedroom and I nodded in understanding as I quickly made my way out of the room.
'Oh, my god', I mouthed to myself as I rushed over to the chest of drawers to the side of the bedroom and I searched through them until I found a familiar set of clothing. I smiled to myself when I recognised them as the clothes I had left behind at the train depot before Derek brought the loft building. I quickly pulled on one of the dresses that were in the drawer and paired it with a denim jacket before heading back into the longue room.
"Okay, now that I'm up to my normal lofty standards, why are three here ruining my morning?" I asked them jokingly as I sauntered back into the room while tying my hair up in a messy ponytail and caught the attention of the small group.
"One of the other deputies tried to kill Parrish." Derek told me calmly as he carefully examined Jordan's hands through narrowed eyes and I frowned in concern as I rushed over to them. "He covered you in gasoline?"
"It's the hair and nails, isn't it? The parts of the body that are essentially dead." Lydia stated knowingly with a nod of her head as she nibbled on her lower lip and Derek nodded in agreement as he looked up from Jordan's hands.
"Well, they should be gone."
"I was set on fire. All of me should be gone." Jordan argued in a tight voice as he glanced down at his own hands with a frown and he looked up in surprise when I grabbed his hand to see what the others had been looking at.
"You were set on fire!?" I asked incredulously under my breath with a concerned frown as I flipped his hand over and he offered me a gentle smile when I released my hold on his hand as I crossed my arms over my chest.
"Not if you're like us." Scott told him, referring to his pervious statement and I tilted my head to the side as I regarded the deputy thoughtfully but I would've noticed before if he showed any signs of being a werewolf.
"Like you?" Jordan asked sceptically with an eyebrow raised in question and I shared a contemplative glance with Derek, sharing an entire conversation in that one look.
"I don't think he's like us." Derek stated out loud with a shake of his head as he looked over at my brother and I hummed in agreement as I nodded my head slowly in deep thought.
"Then what is he?" Lydia asked in a mixture of curiosity and confusion, there was also a hint of frustration in her voice and I knew it was because she hated unfinished puzzles.
"Is that why you interrupted our morning? You couldn't have asked me later at school?" I asked them in annoyance with a scowl on my lips as I placed my hands on my hips and Scott spluttered incoherently with a defensive expression but I just shook my head to stop him from speaking.
"Sorry, but I have no idea." Derek told Lydia with a small smile as they ignored Scott and I's bickering, both of them more than used to our typical behaviour.
"But you knew about Jackson and Kira." Scott reminded him with a slightly confused frown like he couldn't believe there was something Derek didn't know about roaming the streets and I rolled my eyes subtly as Derek levelled him with a deadpan stare.
"This is a little out of my experience. There might be something in the bestiary. Did you try Argent?"
"Why would you bother Chris? I have a copy of the Argent's bestiary." I told them nonchalantly as though it was completely obvious and they all turned to look at me accusingly as I shrugged my shoulder innocently. "What? I asked before I copied it. I also have a copy of the Hale bestiary. Together, they make the McCall bestiary. You're welcome."
"Okay, hold on. What's a bestiary? Actually, that's not even my first question. Just... Just tell me one thing. Are all of you like Lydia? Are you all psychic?" Jordan asked us warily with his eyebrows raised in question and I ducked my head to hide my smile because I didn't want to see insensitive when he was understandably freaking out.
"Psychic?" Derek repeated in amusement with a small smile playing on his lips and he looked over me for clarification, causing me to shrug one shoulder indifferently.
"Yeah. Not exactly." I supplied uneasily as I shifted on my feet and Jordan turned his attention to me with confusion written on his features.
"Okay. Then what are you?" he asked me in a soft tone of voice as he took a small step towards me, his eyes shining with earnest pleading and I sighed slightly as I glanced over at the other two werewolves in the room for their opinions.
Derek shrugged one shoulder indifferently, but his jaw was clenched in irritation for some reason and Scott looked down at the ground with a thoughtful expression as he deliberated. I bit down on my lower lip as I waited for my Alpha to make a verdict because this was ultimately his decision.
Scott sighed heavily in resignation as he slowly raised his head and I saw that his eyes were glowing bright red as he turned his attention to the stunned deputy, "I'm a werewolf."
"Whoa, okay." Jordan breathed out in awe as he stumbled back a step until he hit the counter and I caught his arm to steady him with a concerned frown on my lips. He snapped his head around to look at me with wide eyes and I was afraid he would pull away from my touch in horror but his expression seemed to sober a little when he looked at me.
"He's not the only one." I told him gently with an apologetic frown before I flashed my violet eyes at him and his breathing accelerated for a moment as he stared at me. He swallowed nervously as I changed my eyes back to their normal dark brown and I hesitantly removed my hand from his arm with a slightly dejected frown. "I'm a werewolf. So is Derek. Lydia is actually a banshee. That's why she's drawn to crime scenes where people were killed. There are so many different types of supernatural creatures. That list of names Sheriff Stilinski had you run? The one with your name on it? It's a hit list. A Dead Pool of supernatural's in Beacon Hills."
"Werewolves, werecoyote's, kitsunes, banshees, wendigoes, Kanima's… So many other types of creatures that we don't even know about. And I know you're confused, but we'll help you understand what's going on." Scott added compassionately as he took a small step closer but I placed a hand on his chest to stop him because I knew that Jordan needed space.
"What's a Kanima?" Jordan asked in confusion as he looked between us with a frown and Scott shook his head dismissively as he crossed his arms over his chest with a small smile.
"We'll get back to that. Just know that everyone like us, everyone with some kind of supernatural ability is on the Dead Pool."
"But I don't even know what I am."
"I'm pretty sure they don't care." Derek told him with a shrug of his shoulders as he raised an eyebrow and I squashed down all of the concern that I felt for the people I cared about on the Dead Pool as I straightened my shoulders.
"How many professional assassins are we talking about?" Jordan asked in a hardened tone of voice as his forehead furrowed and I knew that he was also compartmentalising his emotions in order to focus on the most threatening priority.
"We're starting to lose count." I stated sadly as I wrapped an arm around my stomach and tucked a strand of hair behind my ear as I looked over at the others. "But is it still just professionals?"
"I don't think Haigh's ever tried anything like this. I think he was taking a chance."
"That means anyone with the Dead Pool could take a chance."
"But if Haigh had it, then who else does? How easy is it to get this thing now?"
"Wait a second. Haigh? That asshole deputy?" I asked him in intrigue as I took a step towards him with a small smile on my lips and Jordan raised an eyebrow in affirmation as I chuckled in amusement. "You beat the crap out of him, right? Please tell me you beat the crap out of him."
"Oh, I totally beat the crap out of him." Jordan assured me with a smirk on his lips as he took a step forward and I grinned happily as I clapped my hands in delight because the last I had run into Haigh, he had been a dick.
"So, we don't know who made the list?" Derek asked in a tight voice as he placed a hand on the small of my back and I instinctively leaned into his touch as I turned my body slightly to face him.
"I think Meredith wrote it. With the help of my grandmother." Lydia answered sagely as she cleared her throat gently and wandered off to the side of the room with a slight frown on her lips. I frowned in concern because I knew how close Lydia and Lorraine were before the latter's death. "Meredith was only at my grandmother's lakehouse once. But I think once was enough."
"How did your grandmother know her?" I asked her softly as I tilted my head curiously and she turned around to face me with a tight smile that looked more like a grimace.
"She didn't. She found her. Because of another woman named Maddy. The woman she loved." Lydia told us sadly with a frown as she pulled out an antique Polaroid photograph of two women with their arms around each other and I recognised the strawberry blonde as a younger Lorraine when she turned it around to show us. "I never met her, but I saw her name everywhere. She used to be part of a yacht racing team. There were plaques and trophies in the lake house from all the regattas she'd won."
"How did she die?" Scott asked her compassionately with an empathetic tilt of his head and Lydia shook her head dismissively as she turned her attention out the wall of windows.
"How's not the story. It's what happened right before. My grandmother, Lorraine, used to work in San Francisco for IBM. She was there on a weekend, catching up on work. She started hearing this sound... Like rain. But when she looked out the windows...All she saw was blue sky."
"But she kept hearing the rain?"
"And it just kept getting louder. Rain and thunder cracking like gunshots in her head. So loud. She finally just screamed."
"Like a Banshee." Derek filled in knowingly with a nod of his head and Lydia nodded in agreement with a small upturn of her lips as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.
"She called Maddy who was planning on taking one of the boats out on the lake. But Maddy said that the sun was shining there too. So Lorraine didn't say anything." The strawberry blonde told us with a delicate shrug of her shoulders and I leaned back against the counter with my hands on the hard surface.
"There was an accident?" Jordan asked empathetically with a slight frown on his lips and Lydia took a deep breath to prepare herself as she turned to face us with her arms wrapped around her stomach.
"It took them four days to find Maddy's body. And then it took decades to figure out how Lorraine knew. She started with parapsychologists, like the PhD in their name made it more scientific. They built the study in the lake house according to every pseudoscientific theory they could find. None of it worked. So then she started going to more extreme occult. Things like mediums and psychics. All of them were failures. Until she found Meredith. They found her in Eichen House. This fragile girl who didn't understand the things she heard. They brought her to the study. And they almost killed her. She was hospitalized for over a year. She... never really recovered. My grandmother drove her insane. I drove her to suicide. And all she ever wanted to do was help."
"Lydia…" I breathed out in reprimand as I rushed over to her side when I saw the tears forming in her eyes and I wrapped an arm around her shoulders as she placed hers around my waist. She tried to offer me a reassuring smile but it fell almost immediately and I didn't think I had ever seen her looking more vulnerable.
"My grandmother created the code for the Dead Pool. They think she's the Banshee who put the names out in the first place. She left me this message in the same code." She informed us in a hard voice like she was trying too hard to be fine and she unfolded a piece of paper from her pocket as she handed it over to my brother.
"But she didn't leave a cipher key, did she?" Scott asked in an almost hopeful voice as he studied the note and Lydia shook her head with her lips pursed in frustration as she leaned into me slightly. I tightened my hold on her waist in silent support and Scott sighed heavily in defeat as he ran a hand through his hair. "We'll have to deal with it later. School starts soon."
"Yeah. Come on, Jordan, I'll drop you off at your apartment on my way." I told him with a smile as I pressed a kiss to Lydia's temple and started walking towards the front door as I heard his footsteps following after me. A small frown pulled at the corner of my lips when the scent of jealousy filtered through the room and I recognised the personalised scent as Derek almost immediately.
A warm through my chest when I realised that he was jealous that I was spending time alone with Jordan and I quietly slipped on my shoes before sauntering over to where Derek was standing with my brother. He raised an eyebrow at me in question as I approached but I just smiled happily and I reached up to grab the back of his neck as I brought his lips down to meet mine.
I ignored Scott's disgusted groan as I poured everything I couldn't say out loud into that kiss. I needed him to know that he had no reason to be jealous, that he made me happy and safe and more alive than I had been in a long while.
I pulled back to cradle his cheeks in my hands as I brushed my lips against his in a ghost of a kiss and I smiled contently as I looked into his light green eyes, "I'll call you later."
"See you." He replied quietly as he pressed a lingering kiss to my forehead and I squeezed his hand as I headed back towards the front door to the loft where Jordan was waiting for me.
"Let's go, deputy." I said jokingly with a smirk as I collected my handbag from the counter and Jordan smiled back at me as he opened the door for me like a gentleman.
"Braeden punched him? And I missed it?!" I asked in outrage with a pout on my lips as I headed upstairs to my room and I internally scolded myself for deciding to attend school instead of going with Brae and Derek on their fact finding mission.
"I asked Stilinski to pull the interrogation room surveillance room tape. I had to. Braeden mentioned werewolves. You can watch it over and over on replay." Derek told me in amusement through the phone line and I laughed in delight as I entered my bedroom, thinking that I was the only one in the house.
I tossed my school bag on the floor by the door and then stifled a scream when I saw Malia sitting on the edge of my bed like it was the most normal occurrence in the world. "Jesus Christ!"
"Sophie? What's going on!?"
"Your cousin's a bitch, that's what. Der, I gotta go. I'll call you later." I told him with a sigh as I rubbed my forehead and I ignored Malia's confused frown as I hung up my cell phone with an annoyed glance in her direction. "Malia, what are you doing here?"
"I wanted to talk to you." Malia answered in a calm voice like she didn't just scare me half to death and I rolled my eyes at her as I repressed the urge to say 'duh' because I knew she wasn't doing it on purpose.
"I thought you weren't speaking to any of us." I countered bluntly because if she was going to be herself without apology than I was going to do the same and I pulled off my jacket as she shrugged her shoulder dismissively.
"I wasn't, but I figured out of everyone, you're the one I'm the least angry with."
"Why is that?"
"Because we aren't friends." She replied innocently as she tilted her head to the side and I quirked an eyebrow at her with a smirk on my lips but didn't argue with her because it was kind of true. "I'm angry at Scott and Lydia and Kira and… Stiles, because they were my friends and they lied, but you're more of an acquaintance."
"I'll take it. What's on your mind?" I asked her curiously as I bent down to slip off my shoes and she sighed heavily as she grabbed my pillow before clutching it to her chest. A concerned frown spread across my lips because I didn't like seeing her looking so vulnerable but at the same time I was kind of happy that she felt comfortable around me.
"I need you to tell me the truth about Peter. People have told me the horrible things he's done. But I want to know about him from your perspective."
"Sure. He's an asshole." I told her honestly with an earnest expression as I leaned a hand on the open door to my closest and her eyes widened slightly as she turned her body to face me in interest. "Peter is manipulative, and vengeful, and has a very twisted sense of right and wrong. He is also brilliantly clever and cunning, exceptionally devious and calculating. He doesn't do anything without a reason. And it would be good bet that that reason would benefit Peter in some way."
"He murdered people. Not killed. Murdered." Malia reminded me pointedly as she raised her eyebrows and I pursed my lips thoughtfully as I remembered all the people he had killed, the reason behind them.
"There were extenuating circumstances."
"The fire? You're actually defending him?"
The accusation in her tone made me prickle defensively but I squashed the urge to snap at her as I took a deep breath and I remembered that while she might have genetically been a part of the Hale line, she would never be family. "Do you know what happened that day? What really happened, not just the party line feed to the newspapers? Seven people died in that fire. Two of them under the age of five. You know how they died? Smoke Inhalation. That fire nearly burned Peter alive. Six years in a coma. Do you know what that's like for one of us? It's not a pleasant sleep. It's like being locked inside your own mind, unable to move or speak. Most of his family was gone, either dead or fled from town, and I could only visit him once a week. The only thing he could do was think about a future he might never have. And remember the past, remember the screams of his family. I don't know about you, but I would definitively want some form of penance. Yes, he's done horrible, terrible things. And so have a lot of people."
Malia was quiet for a moment as she frowned down at her lap thoughtfully, her fingers idly fidgeting with the edge of the pillow and I turned away to rifle through my closet in order to give her some form of privacy.
"That night I caused the car crash..." she started softly as I continued to search through my clothes and I turned my head slightly to show I was listening but didn't turn around because I thought she would appreciate the solitude. "Right before we got in the car, my mother... My adoptive mother, I guess... We got into a huge fight. I don't even remember what it was about, but... I remember what I said. I said, 'I wish you were all dead.' And the next thing I know… they were just gone."
"When… When Peter turned me, he told me he just wanted me to be safe." I informed her gently without facing her as I pulled a shirt of a coat hanger and sighed heavily as I turned around to offer her a small smile. "Peter may be a complete and total dick, but he is capable of love."
"What do you think I should do?" she asked me in a helpless voice with wide eyes, the desperation wafting off of her and I smiled sympathetically as I sat down on the end of the bed.
"I think if getting to know Peter is something you want to do, you should do it. If there's one thing being involved in the supernatural has taught me, it's that life is too short to have regrets."
"What if I end up regretting getting to know him?"
"Then you have people who care about you that will help you pick yourself back up." I told her cheerfully with a grin as I jumped up from the bed and she cracked a smile in gratitude as I spun around to face her with my hands on my hips. "Okay, all this talk is depressing me. And since we apparently need to spend some bonding time together, we should go to the bonfire at the school."
"Will there be dancing?" she asked me giddily as she stood up from the bed with an excited grin and I laughed at her obvious enthusiasm as I nodded rapidly in affirmation.
"There will be dancing. And there will be booze. And there will be awesomeness." I assured her firmly as I clapped her on the shoulder because after everything that she had been through, she deserved to have a night off to forget everything. "I need to get changed. Feel free to go through my clothes if you want to borrow something."
There was a definite bounce in her step as she made her way towards my open closet and I chuckled slightly as I shook my head at her before I moved over to my dresser to find a skirt. I clicked on my iPod speakers so that Avicii played loudly and Malia looked over at me in surprise but started nodding along with the music with a smile. It had been a while since I had spent time getting ready with a friend for a night out. Before we were introduced to the supernatural, I used to do it nearly every weekend with Lydia. Choosing an outfit, dancing around in our underwear, drinking alcohol we had stolen from her mother, it was fun.
Malia watched me intently with one of the most serious expressions I had ever seen as I applied my make up in the vanity mirror and I had to giggle slightly as she frowned down at my eyelash curler in horror. "Why are you doing this? You're attractive. Although, your eyes are a little far apart to be really appealing."
"Thanks, I think?" I stated in a questioning tone as I took the contraption from her hand and I sighed slightly as I turned to face her with an enduring smile. "I don't wear make up to hide myself. I use it to enhance my natural beauty."
The werecoyote pondered that for a moment with her lips pursed thoughtfully and I continued to apply my eyeliner silently as I hummed along with the music. Watching Malia bouncing around the room like a jacked up meerkat, chattering about anything and everything that came to mind, made it incredibly easy to forget for a moment that we were in the middle of a war. A small smile spread across my lips as I twisted the lid back on my lipstick and I found myself feeling stupid for being resentful towards the mere idea of her.
"Okay, 'Lia, you ready?" I asked her curiously as I strolled over to the chest of draws by the wall and she nodded rapidly with a grin as she bounced on her toes. I sent her a smile over my shoulder as I opened the second drawer from the bottom and searched through it until I found the silver flask I had hidden in there. "Let's go!"
I tossed the flask towards her, causing her to catch it before making impact and she frowned down at it as I guided her out of the room.
I watched excitedly as everyone gathered around the armature of a cyclone rigged with gas jets and Malia gripped my arm tightly as flames raced up the sculpture, eliciting cheers from the crowd around us. I screamed loudly over the music playing through the speakers set up all over the courtyard and we both laughed abruptly as everyone started to disperse to other parts of the bonfire.
"Come on!" I called over the dance music as I grabbed Malia's hand, intertwining our fingers so that we didn't get separated and she bounced along behind me as she occasionally took a sip from the flask of vodka in her hand. I knew that it was kind of wrong of me not to tell her she couldn't get drunk because of her healing factor but the placebo response was effected and she deserved some fun for the night after everything she had been through.
Dancing had always been a release for me, a way to find myself and lose myself all at the same time.
One of Malia's hands rested on my hip as we both moved in time with the music and I draped one arm over her shoulder as I raised the other over my head. At that moment I didn't care about anything going on around me and five thousand assassins could've attacked and I wouldn't have noticed.
"Hey!" I heard someone call over the music and Malia instantly tensed besides me as I turned my head to see my brother approaching us with a tentative smile. "What are you doing here?"
"Getting drunk." Malia answered shortly with a blank expression as she took an exaggerated sip of the flask and Scott glanced over at me with a questioning glance. When I sure she wasn't looking, I grimaced guiltily with an innocent shrug and he rolled his eyes at me.
"What are you doing?" I asked him curiously without stopping and he looked around at the crowd with a nervous glint in his eyes.
"Trying to make sure no one gets hurt." Scott replied calmly as he bit his lower lip anxiously and I hummed in acknowledgement as I followed his gaze around the party, cataloguing every viable exit.
"That sounds fun too." Malia stated idly with a shrug as she took another pull of her flask and his forehead furrowed in internal debate before he sighed loudly while shooting me an apologetic look.
"I don't want to ruin your night or anything, but we kind of can't get drunk."
"What?"
"I think it has something to do with our healing. But, trust me, I've tried. You're not gonna feel anything."
"You lied!" the werecoyote exclaimed accusingly as she spun to face me with a betrayed expression and I scoffed loudly in disbelief as I placed my hands firmly on her shoulders so that she couldn't move away from me.
"I didn't lie. I never said you could get drunk. I said you could drink." I corrected her pointedly with a quirked eyebrow, not very happy to be blamed for something I didn't do. She pouted at me for a moment with a thoughtful expression like she was actually reminiscing to check my words and I waited patiently for her to come to the same conclusion as she nodded reluctantly.
"Maybe you should tell him." she said drily as she gestured with her head somewhere behind me and I frowned in confusion as I snapped my head around to see Liam sitting at a picnic table with Mason.
"Damn it." I swore under my breath when I saw him pour some form of booze into a plastic drink bottle and then started sculling the liquid down. I turned back around to look at Scott with an undistinguishable look and he nodded once in understanding as I sighed slightly, "Swap? I'll take Liam, you take Malia?"
Scott nodded once with a small smile as he squeezed my hand and I returned the smile as I started heading towards where Liam was sitting. I weaved my way through the people dancing, ignoring the groping hands of drunk high schoolers and I plastered a smile on my lips so that Liam didn't think I was coming over to scold him.
"Hey, sweetie." I chirped happily as I sat down next to him with bright smile and he snapped his head around to look at me with wide eyes like he had been caught doing something he shouldn't be. "Why are you looking at me like that?"
"No reason." Liam mumbled lowly as he looked away from me while taking another sip and I quirked an eyebrow at him but didn't say anything.
"Mason, hello." I greeted the other freshman who was standing in front of us with a smile and he grinned back at me almost manically as he nodded once. I frowned slightly as I looked at the plastic bottle in Liam's hand and gently extracted the drink from his hand, taking a delicate sniff of the liquid as I made a slightly impressed noise. "Straight bourbon? Hm."
Liam narrowed his eyes at me in confusion as I shrugged my shoulders nonchalantly and I mocked saluted him as I raised the bottle to my lip before sculling all of the liquid without flinching. I exhaled sharply as I shook my head, not used to sculling alcohol anymore since I stopped partying so much and both freshmen stared at me in shocked awe with their eyebrows raised.
"That was badass!" Mason exclaimed in an impressed tone as he blinked his eyes rapidly and Liam nodded along in agreement as he took the empty bottle from me.
"Well, thank you. I appreciate that."
"What are you doing here?" Liam asked me with a sigh as he stared off into the distance and I silently gestured with my head for Mason to take a walk because I didn't think he would talk with an audience. "Did Scott ask you to talk to me?"
"No." I answered honestly as I watched Mason join another group of students close by and then I turned my body to face him with a quirked eyebrow. "Should he have?"
"No!" he snapped angrily as he turned his head to glare at me and I pursed my lips in annoyance at being spoken to like that, making him sigh as he looked away from me. "Maybe. I don't know."
"What's going on? You know I can keep a secret."
"I, uh, I didn't get a lot of sleep last night. I – I kept having nightmares."
The looked on his face, the vulnerability almost broke my heart as I watched him play with his fingers and I released a sigh as I wrapped an arm around his shoulders comfortingly, "Yeah, I get it. I have them sometimes too."
"Yeah?" he asked in a small voice as he peeked up at me, his eyes almost pleading with me to make him feel better and I squeezed his shoulder slightly as I stared off into the distance.
"Yeah."
"Do they get better?"
"Man, I hope so." I breathed out honestly with a slight shake of my head and he chuckled even though there wasn't anything amusing about our pain. I caught Mason's eyes from across the party and offered him a nod to let him know we were done with our deep and meaningful conversation. I watched him grab two bottles of water on his way back to us and I smiled thankfully when he handed me one before offering one to the boy next to me.
I groaned out loud as I stood up from the bench, letting Mason take my seat and I unscrewed the cap of my water bottle as I looked around the party. I brought the bottle to my lips but ground suddenly moved underneath my feet and I stumbled backwards in confusion as I blindly grasped for something to hold on to.
"Sophie?" Mason asked in concern as he leapt up to steady me and I released a breath as the ground stopped moving beneath me. I grabbed his bicep to keep myself centred as I looked around in confusion and I noticed Liam swaying slightly where he was sitting as he held a hand to his head.
"Liam? Are you okay?" I asked him as I extracted myself from Mason's arms and I began walking to his side as my vision started to blur slightly but I ignored it out of concern. "How much has he had to drink?"
"Not enough to get him like this."
"Sophie!" Scott called out in me in an urgent tone of voice as he guided a very drunk-looking Malia towards us and I frowned in confusion as I handed Liam a bottle of water because were-creatures were not supposed to get drunk. My brother carefully set Malia down next to Liam as I handed her the other bottle of water and I shared an incredulous look with him. "Something's happening. We need to get them out of here. I think we're gonna have to, um..."
Mason caught him when he stumbled slightly as he trailed off and I immediately stood up from the bench with a concerned frown on my lips. "How much did you drink?"
"Nothing. Not even a sip. It's not the drinks." Scott breathed out in realisation as he shook his head with a queasy expression and I raised both eyebrows at him but didn't doubt him as Mason looked between us in confusion.
I tried to think of anything else it could as I focused on the thumping of the music and I realised that there was an underlining beat in the soundwave that shouldn't have been in the song. "It's the music."
"We have to... I have to turn off the music. Don't let them out of your sight." He ordered Mason and me firmly as he laid a hand on the freshman's shoulder and the younger boys face contorted in confusion as he nodded in consent without hesitation. I nodded once in understanding as Scott started to push his way through the crowd and I stood protectively in front of my friends as I looked around for anyone suspicious.
The pounding in my head started to escalate as I scrunched my face up in pain and I rubbed my temple with my fingers as I leaned back against the picnic table. I could feel my lungs trying to expand, to get enough oxygen but it was getting harder and harder to take a deep breath. I saw three men dressed in deputies uniforms approaching us with serious expressions and I tried to stand up straight so that I could defend us but I immediately collapsed onto my knees with a strangled gasp. One of the deputies grabbed me under the arms as my vision blurred at the sudden movement and I tried to protest but all that came out was soft groans.
"Wait... Stop. Hey, what are you doing? These are my friends." I vaguely heard Mason argue with someone but my eyes fluttered closed and I felt someone lift me up into their arms before they started carrying me somewhere. The music was getting further and further away as I drifted closer to oblivion and the cool night air was replaced with a stuffy stale atmosphere.
Pain radiated through me as I was thrown onto the hard ground and I moaned in the back of my throat as my eyes fluttered open with great effort. It took me a moment to recognise the school hallway and I heard someone moving behind me, causing me to turn my head to see Scott, Malia and Liam sprawled besides me.
A gasp left me as I flinched away when a cold liquid was suddenly thrown onto me and I snapped me head around to see a man in a deputy's uniform pouring gasoline onto all four of us.
"What is that? What are you doing?" Scott asked breathlessly in confusion as he tried to sit up against the locker and I closed my eyes as I focused my hearing on the heartbeats coming from Liam and Malia's chests.
"It's gasoline. Haigh says we gotta burn you." The man stated calmly with a manic grin, like he was excited about setting us aflame and I frowned when I heard the word 'we' as I looked around the hall towards the three other men dressed in deputy's uniforms.
Scott spluttered uncontrollably when the last of the gasoline was poured directly over his head and I had to look away as I gritted my teeth to stop myself from cursing out loud. I heard the flickering of someone trying to start a lighter and I quickly snapped my head around in horror as my eyes widened.
"No!" I shouted in feat when the flame flickered in front of Scott's face and I felt the familiar swell of elemental magic in my stomach as the fire completely extinguished. Everyone turned to look at me in shock as I panted breathlessly because fire was the hardest element for me to control. The ringleader of the group stood up from his crouch in front of my brother and smirked wickedly as he sauntered over to stand in front of me with the lighter still in his hand.
"Looks like someone wants to play…" he stated tauntingly as he crouched down in front of me and I cringed away from him in disgust when he ran a finger down my cheek. My brain screamed at me to fight back but my muscles weren't listening because I could still hear the music pounding in the background.
"No, no, no. Leave her alone." Scott protested weakly in a horrified tone as he tried to move towards me but his own body wasn't cooperating and he grunted at the effort it took to even attempt to stand.
"You weren't on the list. I think I'll keep you for myself." The man whispered to me in a low voice as he grabbed my chin roughly and he laughed out loud when I forcibly wrenched myself away from his touch.
Something inside of me changed as my muscles relaxed and it took me a minute to realise that the music had stopped playing outside. The man frowned in confusion when a small smile spread across my lips and I took advantage of his distraction to head-butt him hard enough that he stumbled backwards. He dropped the lighter on the ground when he fell and I stretched my leg out to kick the lighter out of his reach.
The double doors at the end of the hall flew open, distracting everyone in the corridor and I sighed in relief at the sight of Derek and Braeden standing there with their guns. Three uniformed deputy's rushed towards them as the ringleader in front of me tried to scramble for the lighter and I immediately climbed to my feet as the sound of fighting echoed down the corridor.
"Ah!" the man cried out in pain when I stepped down on his hand and he glared up at me as he grabbed my ankle before twisting it so that I fell backwards. I hissed in pain as my head hit the metal locker behind me and he hurried to climb on top of me as he tightened his hands around my throat. I immediately punched him in the face as I rolled us so that I was on top of him and I quickly climbed to my feet as he attempted to crawl towards the lighter. I grunted slightly as I aimed a kick towards his head and he collapsed on his side unconscious as I brushed the hair out of my face with both hands.
"What happened to the gun?" I heard Scott ask someone breathlessly and I turned around to see Derek offering him an incredulous expression as he approached from down the hall.
"You're covered in gasoline." Derek reminded him pointedly as he offered my brother a hand to help him up and I chuckled slightly as I behind them to where Braeden was zip tying the assassins hands behind their backs.
"Oh, yeah."
"I'm fine! Just by the way. I'm good, thanks." I told them drily with a dismissive wave of my hand as I smiled tightly and they both turned to look at me with slightly surprised expression on their faces. I rolled my eyes at them as I turned around and hurried over to the lockers so I could check on a still unconscious Liam.