Chapter 21 - Hunters

FUNERAL

''Many years have passed since I stood by the side of these people, yet I am invited to mourn the death of a woman which I held no love for,'' his mothers gentle voice spoke overly loud before she replaced words with a cigarette, her brown eyes bored as she stared at the casket holding the deceased Kate Argent.

Hearing the crow of people that had gathered with cameras grow louder, Mickey glanced over to see the remaining Argents' make their way towards the row of chairs that had been placed for the guests. His eyes found Allisons' and he sent her a reassuring smile before he turned his focus back to his mother who mirrored his lack of interest in the event. His mother spared him a glance taking notice of his face of discomfort and let her cigarette fall to the ground were she ground it out with her shoe.

Yet her eyes didn't remain on him for long as a certain man moved into her line of sight, the not so discreet 'tsk' that left her lips caused Mickey to follow her line of sight. He figured he shouldn't have been as surprised as he felt when he laid eyes on the most infamous hunter, a man he'd met only a few times in his youth before he took leave at the same time as Mickeys' father had disappeared. Still he'd figured that the death of Kate would bring the old man back, vengeance was but an simple excuse to kill as many werewolf as he could lay hands on.

''Why did you make us come here?'' he asked in a silent tone, his dull green eyes never leaving the old hunter who was stood intimidating a young cameraman which Mickey remembered from school but hadn't paid enough attention to know the name of even though he was certain they shared quite a few classes.

His mother merely shrugged as the both of them watched Gerard stride over to his family to greet his granddaughter, his two bodyguards following him like obidient dogs. Once the greeting of his family seemed to have ended, Mickey felt his mother's hand on his upper arm before she strode over to the grieving family. He cursed under his breath at the way she was holding herself, confident and proud as she stood in front of the people she'd once called family but they betrayed.

''I am so sorry for your loss, the loss of a loved one is always heavy on the heart,'' she said as made sure to look at each on of the Argents, Mickey glanced at the bodyguards still stood close to their boss and decided to make way over to his mother.

As he came to stand next to her he noted a slight change in her posture but his eyes fell to Allison, her smile unaware of the tension between her family and his own.

''Rachael Jagger, a loss we now both share,'' Gerard said as he once again stood from the chair he'd taken a seat on, his hand raised in an offer for her to grasp.

The tension was thick but still, her expression reveals no emotion as she took his offered hand. Thanks to all the media Mickey worried less for their safety and more for his fathers, the words of the hunter making his hairs stand. Yet his mother smiled, ''Yes, it saddens that there are yet knew of my husband's whereabouts but I still hold hope that he is alive.''

''Indeed,'' Gerard hummed before his eyes moved past the woman towards her son, Mickey shifted uncomfortably under the mans' gaze but before he got to speak Chris stepped between the three.

''The ceremony is about to start, let's sit down,'' he prompted, eyes glancing it Mickey who lowered his gaze to the ground.

Silently watching the man, Rachael raised her brow before she gave a curt nod, ''I do not want to appear rude but Mickey and I shall take our leave, pressing matters calls for my attention.''

The Argents' merely gave a gesture of approval before Mickey felt his mother's hand on his own as she led him away from the cemetery.

STILINSKIS' HOUSE

Absently listening to the radio as it was playing the usual songs which seemed to be the top people choices, Mickey flipped the pages of the comic-book he'd been reading for the past hour yet he could not recall the content of it. He was feeling restless and in need of a distraction yet he'd found the house empty when he arrived, letting himself in with the key he knew had been left under the pot that stood by the front door. He knew that he should call Allison but he also knew that she would be spending time with her grandfather and he did not want to a part of that reunion, he had a hard enough time being in the same space as the old hunter and now he'd have to see him every time he went over to his girlfriends house.

The sound of a key turning the lock of the door made him look up from the page of the book, his eyes staring at the door as if it would make Stiles's appearance come quicker. He was painstakingly slow as he headed into the kitchen to prepare food, shuffling around before his footsteps finally took him towards his bedroom. Mickey remained silent as he watched Stiles used his back to push the door open as his hands were full of snacks, finally turning around to lay eyes on his friend.

A silence fell between the two as they simply stared at each other, Stiles's eyes mirroring his mind as he tried to figure out if he should scream or simply let it slide. In the end, he said nothing and headed further into the room, handing a bowl filled with chips over to Mickey who simply took it before shuffling over to the other side of the bed to allow his friend some space to sit down.

''The Notebook?'' Stiles suddenly asked as he leaned over for the remote to his TV, flipping it on before flipping through the different movies.

Frowning at his weird choice of move, Mickey fixed the pillow behind his head so he could eat while watching the film, ''I'm not watching a chick flick.''

''Zombieland it is then,'' Stiles said before starting the movie without waiting for a reply, Mickey didn't mind and handed the bowl over to his friend as he made himself comfortable next to him.

They remained like that for most of the beginning of the movie, shoulders touching as they shared a bowl filled with ranch-flavored chips. The movie wasn't that good in MIckeys' opinion but it was good enough to make the time pass, to make him think of something other than his relationship and what hardships Gerards' appearance had brought to it. He could sense the growing restlessness from Stiles as his fidgeting became worse by the minute, neither he seemed too fond of the movie.

Leaning his head closer to his friend's shoulder so that he could look at him without the pillow obscuring his vision, Mickey finally found the will to strike a conversation, ''I heard you found Lydia.''

''Yeah,'' Stiles answered after chewing a handful of chips, his eyes watching the movie intently, ''We thought she'd killed a guy in an ambulance but apparently, it was done by another werewolf, he's dead now.''

Humming to show he had heard his friends' words even though his mind seemed occupied by the movie neither of the two found much interest in, Mickey shoved a few chips into his mouth before gesturing for the soda the both of them were sharing, ''The hunters?''

''Yeah,'' Stiles responded just like to the previous question as he leaned over to grab the soda from the nightstand, his eyes glued to the screen, ''Gerard cut him in half with a sword.''

It didn't surprise Mickey in the least, Gerard had always had a way of using fancy weapons to kill his targets. He could feel his phone buzzing in his pocket and shifted so he could grab it, seeing a text from Allison. Seemed the house had become quite awkward with her grandpas' arrival, he did not envy her in the least and neither did he feel up for joining her. So he sent her a reply that he was spending the night over at Stiles's house and she seemed alright with and ended the conversation with a sweet message for him to sleep well and that she loved him.

''Speaking of Gerard and werewolves,'' Stiles suddenly said as Mickey put his phone back into his pocket, his eyes turning to glance at his friend. Stiles glanced at him before his eyes returned to the movie, ''The time in the cafeteria when you punched Jackson, why did you do it?''

His words brought Mickey to silence, his hands stilling in the bowl of chips as a frown fell on his brows. It had been so long that he thought that it was all forgotten, that no one had paid any mind to the act. Slowly resuming his movement, Mickey put the chips in his mouth and chewed, ''You said it yourself, to set boundaries.''

''I've known you since kindergarten and that was the first time I saw you punch someone,'' Stiles further pointed out making Mickey roll his eyes, the buzz-cut haired male was fishing for something.

Fully turning his head so that he could see his friend, straightening up so that his back was no longer against the pillows, ''Just ask.''

Refusing to meet his eyes, Stiles moved the bowl from between them into his lap, ''I don't wanna ask, I want you to tell me.''

''I'm not gonna tell you,'' Mickey said as he let himself slump back down, his head burying itself in the softness of the pillows as he watched the protagonists shoot the zombies.

Even though the conversation ended on a sour note the air in the room remained comfortable, neither of the two wants to be the first to speak. The movie ended and still, they remained quiet, Stiles changed the channel so they were watching ordinary TV and left the bed to get an extra blanket. Mickey took the offered blanket and shifted so that Stiles could move under his blanket, the both of them absently watching TV.

Feeling his eyes growing heavy with sleep, Mickey was about to give up on staying awake when Stiles finally spoke, ''It's pretty cool though.''

Snorting, Mickey couldn't help the smile on his lips. He settled under the blanket and finally let himself sleep.

BEACON HILL HIGH SCHOOL

Moving quickly down the corridor as a smile grew on his lips as he swiftly turned towards the locker just as Allison closed it, efficiently closing her in with his arm as he leaned in to let their lips meet. She let out a startled yelp but quickly realized it was him and he could feel a smile forming on her lips as she returned the kiss.

''Missed you,'' he said as he finally leaned out of the kiss, his eyes sparkling playfully as he looked into her gorgeous dark orbs.

Biting down on her lower lip, Allison clutched her books to her chest as she moved away from the lockers to head towards the first class. Mickey eagerly followed and found it adorable when she held out her hand for him to take, it was so small compared to his own.

''How was movie night?'' she suddenly asked as they entered the classroom and found a table the two could share, Mickey, pulled out his phone to make sure the sound was off before he shifted into more comfortable seating.

''Good, Stiles wanted to watch The Notebook but I figured I'd save that one to our movie night,'' he said with a teasing voice causing Allison to bump her shoulder into his own, he chuckled as he opened his notebook.

Her smile remained as she opened her book and turned to the last page they'd been at during last class, her eyes seemingly deep in thought, ''Things are about to change now, aren't they?''

''Between us? No,'' Mickey reassured as he watched the teacher enter the classroom, his head turning to his girlfriend, ''Beacon Hills? Yes.''

LAHEYS' HOUSE

Staring up at the full moon, Mickey listened as Allison brought the bag full of chains out of the trunk of her car. He had yet to fully understand why they were doing it, chaining Scott up in a basement. As far as Stiles had told him Scott was doing much better in the whole controlling his urges to kill during the full moon, that he had conquered it. Not and as Stiles had his hands full trying to save Isaac, Allison had been asked to help out Scott and as Mickey saw it as a danger he had gone with her. He knew Stiles would be alright as he would be with Derek, he didn't know the alpha well but he knew enough of him to know that he would keep Stiles safe.

''You ready?'' he could hear her ask as she closed the trunk, he glanced at the moon once more before he turned and held out his hand for her to take.

She took his hand and he leads them into the house, Allison released as she took the lead down the stairs that lead down to the basement, ''Scott?''

They could both hear his ragged breaths before they saw him, sat on the floor with his shoulder slumped. It was obvious that he was struggling with control so Mickey lifted his hand to stop Allison from going further, ushering her behind him so that he could take the lead. Their eyes met and he gestured for him to wait, she bit down on her lower lip and gave him a nervous nod.

''Hey buddy, you doing alright?'' Mickey asked as he descended the last few steps, crouching in front of his friend.

More ragged breathing and as he raised his head his eyes were shining golden, Mickey had only seen him in his shifted state a handful of times and it unnerved him to see his friend in such state. Yet he still held control over it so when Allison appeared beside him, Mickey patted his friend's shoulder reassuringly before he pushed himself up on his feet. He heard them speak in silent whispers, casually in a way Mickey and Scott had once been before Allison appeared in their lives. Now things were awkward between the two and even more so in the presence of Allison, Mickey sure missed the times when he'd spend several days a week at Scotts' house just chilling and watching movies.

''I'll wait upstairs,'' he finally said before sending a glance at Scott and then letting his gaze fall on Allison who gave him a tight-lipped nod, clearly spooked by the sight of Scott in such pain.

Heading back upstairs, his eyes once again fell on the window and the moon. He couldn't imagen the struggle Scott was going through, the itch her was feeling but yet unable to scratch. Yet he figured the itch had slightly bettered with Allison's presence, even though he was no longer pursuing her a crush was hard to let go of. Maybe he was stupid to let the two be left alone but yet he felt like he owed it to the guy, he hadn't been very fair in many regards. So he sighed, letting the voices from the basement fall from his ears as he waited for Allison to join in upstairs.

He could hear the heels of her boots as she came back upstairs, her breathing ragged from the nervousness she was feeling. Everything was still so new to her, he hadn't realized that until now. So he opened his arms and let her fall against his chest, hugging her as he kissed the crown of her head.

They remained so for a few minutes before Allisons' breathing steadied and she stepped back, her hand showing him her flashlight before she gestured towards the kitchen. He understood and motioned for her to go first, a teasing smile gracing his lips causing her to lightly his arm before she turned to head into the kitchen. He followed her close behind, eyes taking in the unfamiliar space and feeling weird about intruding in someone else's home.

Claws clicking against wood made him glance towards the doorway of the room next to the one they stood in, his eyes searching the darkness but finding it empty. The sound of hissing, like a snake but seemingly louder and more eery made him grip Allisons' arm. He could feel he tense as she too heard the sound, her hand coming up to cover her mouth as she looked up at him. He would have returned her gaze if it hadn't been for the being that suddenly appeared in the doorway, he'd never seen anything like it. It was the same size as a human and with the same features with added scales and a tail, its' eyes resembling that of a reptile.

The scream that came from beside him made him jump, hushing Allison as he used his arm to push her behind himself. He tried to search for a way out but he was unsure if they could even outrun the thing, he felt Allison shift behind him and saw the glimpse of a knife suddenly in her hand.

''I don't know if that will be enough to kill it,'' he said as he kept his eyes glued to the creature that was slowly approaching them, his hand tightening on Allisons' arm as she tried to get beside him.

Suddenly the door which led to the basement flew open and a roar filled the space, Mickey let out a sigh of relief as Scott appeared looking more himself than he'd ever looked in that form.