Disclaimer: Nothing in the Teen Wolf universe is mine. *sobs* I guess I'll have make due with the plot and Oriana.
A big thankyou to ;
meangirl8 , jayesh . dms , PrincessxXxDarkness , Emmettluver2010 and Chrissytomas for reviewing and to all my new followers!
So, because Oriana isn't in this chapter as much I tried to give a few more points of view and did some adding/tweaking some scenes. It's definatley not my best but I hope you guys like it!
Chapter 15 – Formality
"Oriana?"
Kate flipped a switch on a large old fashioned electric box. Allison watched in horror as the box buzzed to life and sparks of electricity flew through the wires connecting the box to the patch on Oriana's side,
Oriana screamed.
Derek started shouting abuse at Kate, watching his cousin's body as it started convulsing on the morgue table.
Allison didn't hear what he shouted, her ears only catching Oriana's cries moans, grunts and screams of pain.
Kate laughed, leaning casually against the electrical box as she watched the younger Hale
"What are you doing to her? Is that gonna kill her?" Allison asked panicked, her aunts laughter having snapped her out of her horror.
"Oh, come on, kiddo. Don't get all ethical on me now." Kate admonished but flipped the switch off so they could hear each other. Oriana slumped back onto the table panting heavily. Derek didn't let up fighting in attempt to get free and rip the face off of Kate.
"What is he?" Allison looked up at the man's demonic as he snarled and snapped his teeth at her aunt.
"Shape - shifter. Lycan. Werewolf. To me he's just another dumb animal."
"Why is Oriana here?" Allison asked nervously looking back at the exhausted teen.
Kate gave a short laugh. "Because she's one too." She said as if it were obvious. "Like her cousin." She nodded her head towards the chained man/beast.
"Tha – "Allison gulped. "That's D-Derek Hale?"
"Mm-Hmm."
"Oh god…" Allison held hand over her mouth as she looked between her aunt's hostages in horror.
Kate flipped a different switch. This time Derek screamed. Allison watched as his face seemed to flash between his normal, 'human' face and his 'wolf' face.
"Stop!" Oriana cried through her sore throat. "Stop it, you bitch!"
Kate only looked at her and laughed, turning the dial up one. Oriana winced as Derek let out a particularly loud roar.
"I'm going to kill you." Oriana threatened, lifting her head from the table in her weak state to glare at Kate. "I'm going to twist off every limb. And then I'm going to peel off your skin." Her voice was low and menacing but was somehow easily heard over Derek's sounds of pain. "It's going to be slow. And painful." She promised.
Kate couldn't stop the shiver of fear that pulsed through her.
Allison looked at her friend in complete unrecognition. She had always known Oriana to have a mean streak and a morbid sense of humor but this…who the hell was this?
Kate chose to pretend she hadn't heard what the chained teenager had said, instead finally turning off the machine and sauntering over towards the, now, slumped over Were attached to the gate.
"Come here." She motioned Allison nearer as she reached up to lift Derek's lip.
"Don't you touch him!" Oriana growled, fighting against her bonds. Derek was so exhausted and weakened he was only able to move his head slightly in protest, at Kate's probing hands.
Kate ignored them. "See these right here? These are canines, also known as fangs." Kate lectured to Allison. "Made for the tearing and rending of flesh. Not something you'd find on those cute little leaf - eating herbivores, is it"
"This is a joke to you?" Allison asked incredulously. She gave Oriana a nervous glance, but the dark haired girl's eyes were fixed on Kate with malicious intent.
Kate spared her a patronizing smile. "Sweetheart, there are werewolves running around in the world. Everything's a joke to me. How else do you think I stay sane?"
"You don't." Oriana answered the rhetorical question.
Kate gave her a fake smile and walked over to the table she was laying on. Quick as a snake, she stabbed Oriana in the leg with a syringe she's pulled from her back pocket.
Oriana's eyes rolled back and her head fell back on the metal table with a dull thud. Allison gasped, putting a hand over her mouth.
"What was that?!" She cried.
"Relax." Kate waved off her concern. She turned off the large industrial floodlight and steered her niece towards the open door.
"So - it was them at the high school and all the other animal attacks?" Allison asked, looking over her shoulder at the two silent werewolves. She didn't want to leave Oriana there but she sure as hell wasn't going to go against her aunt, the only person that's actually been telling her the truth, for a killer, a monster. Friend or not.
"There's actually four of them - Another younger one like her called a Beta, and then there's the Alpha. Alpha's the pack leader - Bigger, stronger, nastier. Those - are the real ugly motherfuckers."
Allison leaned against the concrete wall in the dingy hallway outside as Kate closed the massive sliding door, effectively closing the unconscious werewolves' inside.
"When were they gonna tell me?"
"They still haven't decided if they're gonna tell you."
"Why?"
"Let's just say if you react badly when you find out - Not good." Kate clicked her tongue and started down the dark hallway again.
"What do you mean,"not good"?" Allison asked moodily, following her Aunt.
"They don't think that you can handle it. They look at you and they see this frightened little girl who's gonna run crying in the corner when she finds out the truth." Kate sighed in fake disappointment. "Me - what I see - Natural talent. Allison, you said you wanted to feel more powerful, right?" She stopped walking to look at Allison seriously. Allison nodded weakly. "Now's your chance."
They continued to walk in silence for a while.
Allison's head hurt and she didn't know how to feel about all of this new information. Yesterday she was just a normal teenage girl with boy and parent troubles. Now, her friend was a werewolf who was going around killing people and her family were the ones in charge of putting a stop to the killings.
"What am I supposed to do now?" She asked her aunt desperately.
Kate shrugged. "Go to school, do your homework. Go to the Formal on Friday night. Be a normal teenage girl who doesn't know anything. Trust me to get everything ready for the next part".
"What's the next part?" She asked cautiously. What could come after torturing the Hale cousins. Was Kate going to kill them?
Kate paused, "You're gonna help me catch the third Beta." She gave a menacing smile and walked on.
Allison stared after her aunt in utter hopelessness.
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OHOHOHHOHHHHOHHHHHHH
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"Call it again." Scott told his best friend, looking through the drawers of his bedside table.
"It's not here." Stiles told him firmly, watching him run around his room frantically searching for the missing phone. "Okay, so you lost your phone. Why don't you just get a new one?" He asked Scott moodily.
Scott sighed as he looked under his bed. Stiles had been in a bad mood since he had shown up that morning and found out that Oriana had disappeared the night before. Scott knew that Stiles was mad at him for leaving Oriana to face two hunters alone, injured or not, and he as worried that Oriana hadn't shown up and when he tried to call her phone he realized that she'd left it in the jeep the night before. Stiles was terrified that Oriana was hurt or worse; dead, but wouldn't say it out loud.
"I can't afford a new one. And I can't do this alone. We have to find Derek and Oriana."
"Well, "A", you're not alone. You have me." Stiles said with mock cheeriness, from his spot on Scott's backwards computer chair. "And "B", Oriana will show up. I mean, she turns into a freakin' wolf, right? She beat the crap out of those hunters." He said, trying to sound optimistic.
While Stiles knew that Oriana was one kickass chick and could take care of herself, he also knew that she would have contacted him by now to let him know she was okay. He had a horrible sinking feeling in his gut that she was in trouble but they'd already searched around town and the preserve that morning; they checked everywhere they could think of to find Oriana, even the Hale house, and she wasn't anywhere. Stiles felt helpless when it came to finding and/or saving Oriana. He just hoped that she was completely safe and sound, hiding away somewhere and was just being stubborn about his safety again and didn't want to risk leading hunters to his door.
"Where is she then?" Scott asked, snapping him out of his brooding thoughts.
"….. She's probably just…laying low for a bit…she's gotta' be pretty broken up about Derek too. Didn't you say he walked into gunfire? He sounds pretty dead." He couldn't even imagine how Oriana must be feeling right now, but hoped that his words were true.
"Argent's plan was to use him to get to the Alpha - they're not gonna kill him. But they probably have Oriana too, using her to get Derek to talk ya'know?"
Stiles reluctantly considered this and though he was loath to admit it, Scott was probably right. "…. All right, so then just let them do what they're planning, you know? They use Derek to get Peter, they kill Peter and let Oriana go - problem solved."
Stiles watched as clothes were thrown out of Scott's bathroom as he searched. Scott appeared in the bathroom doorway, his eyes roving around his room for unchecked spots.
"Not if Peter's going after Allison to find Derek and Oriana! I can't protect her on my own. Which means we either find Derek and Oriana first - just - just help me!"
Scott threw a small foam basketball over his shoulder from his desk, hitting Stiles in the head in the process.
Stiles glared at his back as he searched his desk. "You know, you probably lost it when you two were fighting. You remember that, when he was trying to kill you, after you interrupted him trying to kill Jackson? Are you starting to see a pattern of violent behavior here?" He licked his lips and waved his hands about in frustration.
Scott stopped his search momentarily, leaning on his desk. "He wasn't going to kill anyone. And I'm not letting him die. Oriana wouldn't want that."
Scott glanced back to see Stiles sitting with his head bowed. He suddenly felt a rush of annoyance and protectiveness overwhelm him.
"What's your problem? I thought you'd want to get Oriana back!" Scott shouted.
He was doing everything he could think of to find the Hales, not just because he needed their help, but because Oriana was his friend and she meant a lot to Stiles. Derek was just a bonus that came with her. But it felt like Stiles wasn't as motivated to help them as he would have expected. Whether it was because Stiles didn't really want to know what had happened to Oriana, in fear of the worst, or because he genuinely believed that she was safe somewhere; he didn't know.
Stiles head raised quickly and he sent Stiles chilling glare, similar to Oriana's. "Of course I want her back, Scott! She wouldn't be gone right now if she hadn't joined Peter to protect me! She's probably with the Argents right now. And they're probably hurti – " He cut himself off with a deep shaky sigh, unable to finish his sentence. He looked down again. "And I'm not there to stop it; I have no idea where she is and no way of helping her. Scott, she's my - . I'm scared, Scott. What if she's – "
"She's not dead."
Stiles looked up at his friend with weak, hopeless eyes. "How do you know that?"
Scott shook his head, leaning back against his desk. "…. I just know. So do you."
They sat for a moment in silence, both contemplating all that had happened in the past 24 hours and trying to come up with solutions, or some hope.
A noise outside caught Scott's attention and he cocked his head to the side, focusing his hearing on the sound.
"What?" Stiles asked.
"My Mom just got home from work."
Stiles watched Scott as he was listening to his mom leave a disastrous and embarrassing message for Peter. Scott closed his eyes in shame.
"Is she okay?" Stiles asked, concerned for his mother figure. Scott shook his head sadly. "What's she doing?"
"Crying." Scott sighed.
Scott sat on the end of his bed heavily, with his head in his hands. Stiles looked over his best friend. Scott had never looked so defeated. Any and all anger Stiles felt over Scott's part in Oriana's disappearance melted away.
"Scott, you can't protect everyone."
Scott looked up. "I have to."
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OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH
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"Stop it!" Derek called weakly.
Kate looked over her shoulder at him and turned off machine. Oriana's cries immediately stop as she passed out. Kate sighed in disappointment.
"What is it with you, Hales?" Kate asked rhetorically, putting her hands on her hips as she looked down at Oriana. She was covered with a sheen of sweat, her hair was wet with it too. Her skin was paler then usual and her lips were chapped from all the screaming and dehydration.
"This could have all been over hours ago if one of you had just told me what I want to know. Do you like the pain or something?" She smirked at Derek who could only narrow his eyes at her in response. "Kinky. Oh, well. Looks like it's your turn again."
Kate moved away from Oriana's side and started rifling through the pockets of Derek's disguarded leather jacket that was on the wooden bench beside the electric boxes and control panel. She opened his wallet and pocketed all of the cash she found inside. "Come on, Derek. He killed your sister. Now - either you're not telling me because, well, you want to kill him yourself, or for some reason - You're protecting him."
She looked at Derek's drivers licence and chuckled, walking over to Derek's hanging body. She grabbed his chin to lift his face and held up the licence to compare. "Look at that sour face. I bet you always used to get people coming up to you saying, "Smile, Derek.", "Why don't you smile more?" Don't you just wanna - kick those people in the face?" Kate asked almost friendly, as she walked away to observe the picture near the industrial light.
"I can think of one." Derek answered stonily, with a little more strength. God he wanted to rip her head off. After spending the last hour listening to his baby sister scream in pain while was forced to watch helplessly, all he could think about was how Kate's blood would feel on his hands.
"Promise?" Kate smirked at him. "'cause if I thought you'd be that much fun - I'd let you go."
She went back over to the bench and tossed the drivers licence into the pile with the rest of Derek's stuff. She picked up the phone she'd found in his pocket. "All right, let's see. Nothing, nothing, nothing. God, I hate this detective crap."
"Are you gonna torture me - Or are you just gonna talk me to death, huh?"
Kate turned to smile seductively at him. "Oh, sweetie, I don't - I don't wanna torture you. I just - wanna catch up. Remember all the fun we had together?"
Derek's nostrils flared in rage. "Like the time you burned my family alive?"
She chuckled and walked closer to him again, swaying her hips saucily. "No, I was thinking more about the - hot, crazy sex we had." She grinned widely and rubbed her hands over his sweat slicked abs appreciatively. "But the fire thing. Yeah, that was fun too."
She laughed when Derek jolted forward, his restraints bringing him only inches from her face.
"Your cousin's face was hilarious; I still laugh thinking about it."
Derek snarled and pulled on his shackles.
"I love how much you hate me. Remember how this felt?" Kate leaned down to give a long seductive lick from the edge of his jeans up the centre of his rock hard abs.
Derek roared loudly in her face, his fangs dropping menacingly. He pulled on his bonds desperately snapping his teeth at her. She didn't even flinch.
"Sweetheart, I really don't want to torture you. Either of you."
Kate turned around when she heard the heavy metal door slide open to reveal one of her brother's older hunter friends. He was one of her favourites; ruthless, callous and held no capacity for remorse. "But he does. Oh, and, just a warning. He likes hearing a young girl scream so you might want to tell your cousin to behave herself when she wakes up." Kate winked at Derek on her way out. She laughed when heard his loud enraged roar as she closed the door behind her.
…..
Oriana woke up to Derek's roar. She looked around the dimly lit room, if you could even call it that, frantically, her eyes searching for a threat.
She had to turn her neck painfully to look behind her to see the man standing in the room with them.
His dull brown eyes caught hers and he gave a manic smirk, matching the void look in his eyes.
"Let's get started shall we?" The man said in a low threatening voice.
The Hales watched him apprehensively as he calmly strolled over to a tall wooden bench near the electrical machines that they were hooked up to. It also held a small clothing pile consisting of Oriana and Derek's leather jackets and shirts. They glanced at each other tensely, when the man reached down and pulled a large duffel bag from underneath the bench. He put the bag on top of the bench and undid the zip.
The unzipping of the bag echoed like a gunshot throughout the underground torture chamber.
The man pulled out a large G-Clamp like device that looked like it had been modified for torture. The long screw-like pole that went through the C shaped clamp didn't have the traditional flat head of steel that was used in the 'clamping' process. Instead, where that flat piece usually was, was a long pointed spike.
Oriana gulped fretfully as the man set the clamp down gently on top of the wooden benchtop.
Next he pulled out a generic spray bottle that looked like it was recycled from under the sink with the rest of the cleaning supplies. Oriana highly doubted, however, that it contained mild bleach.
Some other tools and gadgets, most unrecognisable to Oriana, were taken out and placed neatly in the bench.
Finally, the man was satisfied with his choices and stored the duffel away again.
He picked up the spray bottle and approached Derek. The older werewolf stood absolutely still, like one huge coiled spring ready to pounce. He held eye contact with the man, hoping to intimidate him enough that he'd just leave. It didn't seem to be working.
"This is an old idea." The silver haired man said conversationally, shaking the bottle. The Hales heard the sloshing of liquid inside but knew that it wasn't water. "But it's one of my favourites. It's just so effective, ya'know?"
The man looked at the bottle fondly. Suddenly he pointed it at Derek's chest and sprayed.
Derek grunted in pain as the liquefied wolfsbane burned his skin.
The man laughed as he watched Derek's pain. He turned when he heard Oriana's growl.
"What? You feel left out, girl?" He asked as if she were a neglected puppy.
"Don't worry, sweetheart. I have a special toy just for you." He winked at her glare and walked over to the bench. His hand hovered over the collection of tools, his fingers wiggling as he hummed in thought.
"Ah." He picked up the modified G-Clamp.
"Now this," He held it up for her them to see and he prowled closer to Oriana's table.
She tried to lean away from him, a rush of fear flooding through her. Derek snarled from his place, remembering Kate's parting words.
"This is a new invention of mine. You're going to be the first to try it." He poked the spike and laughed when he pricked his finger easily.
"You wanna tell me who the third beta is?" He asked out loud, his eyes seemingly fixed on the clamp.
Neither Hale spoke, but both held their breaths as they waited for the silver haired man's next move.
He shrugged, noncommittedly. "It's okay. I have all day."
He grabbed Oriana's right leg in a vice-like grip. She started kicking her bound legs and thrashing her body wildly, in an attempt to shake his hold, and Derek was pulling on his own restraints as hard as he could. Derek's face transformed again as his temper rose.
The man only laughed at their failed attempts at breaking free, knowing that the effort was futile as the chains holding them were specifically crafted for restraining werewolves and were both too weak to begin with.
He laughed as they continued to fight for release as he lowered the clamp to the female's leg. He positioned the clamp just under her knee and started turning the handle.
Oriana's scream was one Derek would remember for the rest of his life.
"Did I mention that the steel is infused with wolfsbane?" The man had to shout to be heard over her screams, as he kept twisting the spike in deeper and deeper as easily as cutting through butter. Oriana cried as felt the spike and wolfsbane working together in her leg, the intense sensation reminded her of the pain she felt when she was burned in the fire, only worse. She could feel the steel tearing through flesh, tissue, muscle and even bone. She could feel when the tip of the spike hit the other end of the clamp because the man couldn't twist it anymore.
Derek roared with her, as if for every millisecond of pain, she felt; equalled to double the amount of fury he felt.
"I'm gonna kill you!" Derek screamed.
The man laughed again, looking over at Derek.
"Ohh." The man said excitedly as his eyes caught the electrical box that was connected to Oriana.
"Don't you dare!" Derek growled.
"Wanna tell me who the third beta is now?" He asked as he strolled towards the box.
Derek looked at Oriana with overwhelming helplessness, guilt and fury. He opened his mouth to give the man Scott's name but Oriana beat him to it.
"Go to hell!" Oriana spat, bracing herself. The man grinned sickly and flipped the switch.
Oriana threw her head back and let out a deafening scream as the electricity ran through her beaten body, the metal clamp in her leg only intensifying the current. Her electric blue eyes were streaming with tears.
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OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH
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Scott slammed Jackson's locker closed. Jackson looked at him, unamused.
"You want me to take her to the formal."
"I don't want you to. I need you to."
"Screw you. You know what? Screw you too." He pointed at Stiles who was leaning casually against another lacrosse locker. Stiles looked shocked. "In fact, screw each other."
"Hey, you know he saved your life, right?" Stiles said in Scott's defense.
"He left me for dead." Jackson snapped.
Scott looked around the almost empty locker room in disbelief and hissed, "I got shot for you."
"Oh, yeah? Show me the bullet wound."
"You know it healed."
"Mmm, convenient." Jackson whispered.
"Oriana saved your life, too." Stiles snapped.
Jackson looked at him dubiously. "What? When?"
Stiles glared at him. "At the video store. Remember? She fought off the alpha to save your life. She also stood up to Derek with Scott."
Jackson's jaw tightened in comprehension. He looked down with an almost guilty look on his face. He quickly snapped out of it though, he was Jackson after all, and stared at the boys again defiantly.
Stiles threw his hands up in anger and had to turn away from Jackson; If he looked at that cowardly bastard for a second longer Stiles was worried he'd go all wolfy on his ass.
Scott groaned. "Just do it for Allison, okay? She's in serious danger. I'm talking around - the - clock danger. She needs someone to keep an eye on her at the dance."
"Have her dad do it, okay? He's the one actually equipped to handle this."
Stiles snorted, unsurprised that Jackson would give an excuse not to help.
Scott gave Jackson an obvious look. "How am I supposed to do that and keep him from finding out about me?"
"Not my problem."
Jackson made to walk past them but Scott slammed his hand against the locker, effectively blocking his path. Jackson stepped back with a childish sigh and looked at Scott moodily, waiting for him to continue.
"You're her friend too. You are. All that time that you spent with her to get to me you can't tell me that you didn't get to know her and like her. It's Allison. It's impossible not to like her."
Jackson raised his eyebrows in reluctant agreement.
"You can't tell me that you don't care if she gets hurt." Scott finished.
"What if I get hurt?"
"Then it's worth it."
Jackson gave him a mocking look. "Not to me."
Jackson forcefully pushed them out of his way and walked away.
Stiles exhaled deeply. "Well, I shouldn't say I told you so - 'cause it's not strong enough. How about I'm always right, and you should listen to whatever I have to say and never disagree ever, ever, for the sake of your wolflihood?"
"I'm not done." Scott stated lowly his eyes glued to Jackson's back as he neared the locker room door.
"You're not done." Stiles repeated with a sigh and collapsed back against a locker. He rubbed his tired eyes and winced when Scott's loud roar echoed through the room.
…..
Scott and Stiles peeked around the corner, watching Jackson walk speedily up to Allison as she rifled through her locker. They both had to smile at Jackson's pale, sweaty and agitated figure as he approached the brunette.
"Hey, did you ever ask Oriana to the dance?" Scott asked Stiles over his shoulder, his eyes glued to the exchange happening between his girlfriend and his former bully.
"Didn't get the chance." Stiles said sadly.
Scott groaned, the magnitude of their situation, once again, hitting him like a train wreck. "I can't believe this is happening. Oriana and Derek were supposed to be there."
"Hey, don't worry. I'll still be there." Stiles slapped his friend's shoulder, trying to sound encouraging, even though he wanted to cry and scream and sleep.
"I'm still going."
Stiles raised his eyebrows at him. "Is that such a good idea? Do you even have a date?"
"Not yet."
"Do you have a suit?"
"Not yet."
"Do you have a ticket to the formal? A ride there?"
"No. And no."
"So you're gonna ride your bike to a dance that you're not even allowed to go to without a date, a suit, or a way in with werewolves and werewolf hunters all out to kick your little werewolf ass."
"Yeah. You gonna help me?"
"Hell, yeah."
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OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH
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"Stiles!"
The dark haired boy turned instinctively to see a head of brown curls bouncing towards him.
"Allison?" He looked around unsurely. He'd never really had a one-on-one talk with Allison before and considering her family he felt justified in his apprehensiveness.
"Hi." She gave him a wide dimpled smile. He automatically smiled back.
"I wanted to ask you something?"
"About Scott?"
She shook her head and looked around the crowded hall. "I wanted to ask if you had a date to formal?"
His whisky eyes tripled in size. He looked around panicked, as if it was a trap and Scott was going to come out and rip his head off.
"Wh-what? Why?"
Allison's own chocolate eyes widened as she realized how Stiles must have heard her. "No, no, no! I didn't mean for me! I'm going with Jackson. As friends." She rushed to explain, not wanting Stiles to, once again, get the wrong idea and telling Scott that she was going on a date with Jackson.
Stiles nodded in semi-understanding and looked around again nervously for Scott.
"So?"
He looked at Allison's wide expecting eyes. "What?"
"Have you got a date to formal?" Allison asked again slowly.
"Oh." Stiles shook his head, forcing himself to relax a little. This was only his best friend's girlfriend after all. "No. Well, I was going to ask Oriana but she kind of went missing so…"
Stiles caught a flash of guilt cross Allison's eyes before she looked down to adjust the strap of her bag on her shoulder. When she looked up again her expression was smooth once more. He shrugged it off; chalking it up to her still feeling guilty over ignoring Oriana since the night at the school.
"Well I was wandering if you'd like to go with Lydia?"
"Go with Lydia where?"
"To formal." Allison said in her slow tone, again.
Stiles choked.
"The – me and Ly – go together – dance – " He stuttered.
"Yep." Allison said simply, looking a little uncomfortable.
"Why?" Stiles managed to choke out.
Allison shrugged. "She doesn't have a date and I know you have a crush on her, so I thou – "
"I don't have a crush on Lydia."
Allison looked at Stiles incredulously.
"I mean, I do. Kinda. But I like Oriana more. And she said that I had to choose before me and her could really get together ya'know? And I've chosen Oriana." Stiles told her strongly.
Allison nodded slowly in thoughtful silence.
"But you're not together?"
Stiles stuttered again. "Well, n-no…not yet…"
"And she isn't going to the dance?"
"Probably not…"
"Then why can't you go with Lydia?" Allison asked, a plan formulating in her head. She did feel a little guilty; Stiles genuinely liked Oriana, maybe even loved. And she knew that Oriana felt strongly for him. But Allison was also dealing with feelings of great betrayal and hurt from both Oriana and Lydia and she couldn't pass up this opportunity to get back at them both a little. Plus; She cared about Stiles, him being her boyfriend's best friend and all, and she thought that it might be best to push him more towards Lydia and hopefully have him forget Oriana. She just wasn't good for him; she was a murderous monster and he was just a sweet, innocent teenager. As the only one who knew about Oriana, Allison felt that she was in a position to protect Stiles, and that's what she would do.
"Because I don't want to make Oriana think that I chose Lydia." Stiles said plainly, having no patience for Scott's girlfriend right now. He knew she wasn't Oriana's biggest fan lately but they were friends at one point. So why was Allison being so insistent that Stiles do something that would surely hurt Oriana?
"Well, have you spent any time with Lydia since Oriana told you to choose?"
"No…"
"Well how can you commit to Oriana 100% if you haven't even tried to get to know Lydia? You have had a crush on her since third grade. Maybe if you had the chance to talk to her properly you'll see if your feelings are real. Don't you owe it to Oriana and to yourself to make sure that those feelings are gone before pursuing anything serious with Oriana?"
Stiles blinked.
He blinked again.
"That…kinda makes sense…" He mused. "But Oriana wouldn't like it…"
"Isn't she the one who told you to be sure about your feelings for Lydia before she'd consider getting together with you? She wouldn't mind you taking Lydia to formal because she knows that it would hurt her more in the long run if you realized that you still had feelings for Lydia once you'd been in a relationship for a while."
Stiles was looking down at the scuffed hallway floor as he listened to Allison. It made sense. Is this how Oriana thought? Is this what she had wanted when she'd told him to choose; to spend time with Lydia and make sure there was no feelings there? Oriana wasn't there to tell him but Allison was a girl, right? So surely she'd have a better idea of what was going on in Oriana's mind then he did. Right?
"Okay." Stiles decided. "Okay, I'll go to the dance with Lydia."
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OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH
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"Hey. It is me. I'm getting tired of leaving messages. I wanna know where you are. Call me. Now."
Kate sighed and turned off her voicemail as she lounged in a chair.
"Unfortunately, Derek, if neither of you are gonna talk - I'm just gonna have to kill you. So say hi to your sister for me." Kate reached for the switches on both electrical boards but hesitated.
"You did tell her about me, didn't you? The truth about the fire? Or did you? Did you tell anybody? Oriana doesn't count! She found out all on her own." Kate winked at Oriana's unconscious body, the steel clamp still embedded in her leg; Kate was very impressed with her brother's friend. If only Christ was more like him.
Derek looked down in shame. Kate chuckled and stood up to stand closer to Derek.
"Oh, sweetie - That's just a lot of guilt to keep buried. It's not all your fault. You got tricked by a pretty face. It happens! Handsome young werewolf mistakenly falls in love with a super - hot girl who comes from a family that kills the werewolves. Is that ironic? Is it - ironic - That you're inadvertently helping me track down the rest of the pack - again? Or just a little bit of history repeating."
Kate walked back over to the electrical boxes and reached for the switched again. But she paused, cocking her head in thought. She tapped her fingers on the box in contemplation.
"History repeating." She repeated to herself. A light bulb turned on in her head,
She sauntered over to look at Derek again. "It's not Jackson, is it? Oh, no, no, no, he's got a little scratch on the back of his neck, but - he's not in love with Allison."
Derek looked up guiltily. He glanced at Oriana's prone body, silently apologising for letting Kate find out.
"Not like Scott."
.
.
OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH
.
.
"Hey."
John Stilinski stood in the doorway of his son's bedroom watching him tie his tie with an almost sullen look.
Stiles looked up and gave a half-hearted nod. "Yo."
"You excited for the dance?"
Stiles shrugged.
John narrowed his blue eyes slightly. "Got a date?"
Stiles nodded unenthusiastically as he donned his blazer.
"It's not Oriana, I take it?"
Stiles looked at his dad in shock. "Why would you say that?"
"Because if it were, you'd be looking a hell of a lot happier right now.
Stiles sighed and sat on his bed. "It's Lydia."
John raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Lydia Martin? The Lydia Martin?"
"Yup."
"So, what's the problem?" John asked, knowing the answer already.
"I wanted to go with Oriana…" Stiles whined.
"She going with someone else? Where is she anyway? I haven't seen her around the past few days."
"Uh…" Stiles looked around his room anxiously for a moment. "She…she's…" He pursed his lips. And his eyes landed on his lacrosse stick. "She's going with Greenburg!"
"The kid who bumped me with his car?" John asked in surprise. "She punched him, though."
Stiles nodded. "Yeah. He – uh – he's had a crush on her for a while and she just – finally got tired of him asking, I guess." He told his dad with a forced chuckle that, thankfully, his dad interpreted as being jealous.
"And uh, Oriana…" Stiles continued, hoping to keep his dad from asking any questions about him and Oriana. "She's been staying at Lydia's." He nodded to himself. "Yeah, she's just been feeling a little down since the whole Derek thing so Lydia offered to cheer her up. Like an extended slumber party or something," He chuckled weakly. "She felt bad about not telling you herself but you've been working pretty late and I told her that you'd be okay with it. If you're not…" He reached for his phone, knowing how his dad would respond.
"No, no. Don't do that. She's fine." John waved him off. "As long as she's feeling better. I know it can't be easy for her; staying with the cop that made her cousin a fugitive, and who doesn't do anything when she insists he's innocent." John sighed heavily, rubbing his hand over his face.
Stiles looked sadly at his dad. "No, dad. She doesn't blame you and she knows that there's nothing you can do otherwise. She's really happy with us here." He smiled a little. "She called it home the other day."
The Stilinski men shared a genuine smile before John ruined the moment.
"Do you think Derek's innocent?"
Stiles looked down. "Oriana says he is."
"And you believe her?"
Stiles looked his dad in the eye silently. John nodded, knowing his son's answer.
"You'd better head out now if you want to make it on time."
.
.
OHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOHOH
.
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Stiles and Lydia sat in the jeep in an awkward silence. Stiles knew that Lydia wasn't exactly happy about the arrangement Allison had made and wondered why she'd agreed at all.
When he'd met her and Allison at the mall after school and he'd been forced to carry a mountain of dresses for Lydia, he realised that it was the first time he'd ever been so close to Lydia outside of a classroom and the first time they'd had a, kind of, conversation (he was not counting that time he talked at her in the hospital waiting room). And he couldn't help but compare them; While both girls were incredibly blessed in the looks department they were pretty much opposites; Lydia was strawberry blonde and pale while Oriana was raven haired and naturally tanned. Lydia was vain and used her looks to gain attention. Oriana was aware of her admirers but at the same time was ignorant to her beauty, and preferred to blend into the background.
Lydia reminded him greatly of Regina George (don't judge him!), with her mean girl attitude and constantly picture perfect appearance and unlimited amounts of followers. Oriana, on the other hand, was a bitch. Plain and simple. Unless she liked you; then she was slightly less of a bitch and more bitch-y. When she liked you, Oriana was funny, loyal and caring.
Lydia's life was blessed; the only exception he knew of was her divorced parents. Lydia was a genius with a bright sparkly future ahead of her. Oriana had known great loss and tragedy. She was behind a few grades in her education, which he knew was a very sore topic for her. She was also a werewolf. Her future was running from hunters and living day to day.
Lydia was secretly quite compassionate and had a golden heart buried deep down. Deep, deep down. Oriana was, surprisingly, a little childish and a lot adorable when she was comfortable and had her walls down; he suspected it was the lost innocence from her horrible and too short childhood.
He absolutely loved catching Oriana when she was sleepy; A couple of nights before they had found out that Peter was the Alpha, he and Oriana had been watching movies in the living room while is dad was working the night shift. At about one in the morning, somehow, they ended up watching Despicable Me 2. Oriana giggled throughout the movie. It was adorable. She was lying there on his big sofa all curled up in a large men's t-shirt (he hoped it was Derek's), plaid pyjama pants and a pair of fuzzy blue socks, and covered in the blanket off
the back of the sofa. Her head rested against the arm of the sofa, her hair was up in a messy bun on top of her head and her eyes were drooping from tiredness but she wore a big sleepy smile on her soft pink lips.
'Look Stiles.' She'd say, 'Did you see what Kevin did?' And then she'd freakin' giggle again. He'd never wanted to squeeze the life out of anyone before that night but, oh my god, he just wanted to scoop her into his lap and hug her so tightly she'd pop a blood vessel or something.
When he was around Lydia, Stiles felt small and inferior; His existence was non-existent around her. No one had ever made him feel as worthless and unwanted as her (except maybe Jackson), and she didn't even know it.
When he was with Oriana…it was totally different. He felt comfortable and confident. She laughed when he made good jokes and slapped his arm when he made bad ones. She listened to his opinion and asked for it too. He was important to her. He felt important around her. It wasn't just about how she made him feel about her; it was also about how she made him feel about himself. He felt better, happier, with her. He felt manly and protective when she let him put his arms around her, as if he was able to keep her safe. He wanted to. He wanted her.
Stiles chuckled to himself.
"What's so funny?" Lydia snapped.
Stiles looked at her with no trace of intimidation, nervousness or attraction.
"I just realised something."
"What?" Lydia asked again, unamused.
"I don't like you."
Lydia looked at him, offended.
Stiles' eyes widened and he started rambling. "No, no! I didn't mean it in a mean way! I just meant that I don't like like you. I like like Oriana. I really like like Oriana. Not you…Sorry."
She watched the pale brown haired boy as he looked between her and the road anxiously.
"Good." She said finally.
"G-good?" Stiles stuttered.
"Oriana likes you too." Lydia said simply.
Stiles smiled widely, uncaring that he wasn't alone, and continued driving towards the school.
….
The rest of the drive was spent in a somewhat comfortable silence. It was still kind of awkward, considering the pair had never talked before and walked in completely separate social circles, but it was no longer awkward in the un-requited love kind of way.
When they arrived at the school Stiles got out of the jeep to open Lydia's door. He may have finally realised what, or rather who, he wanted but he was still a gentleman. Plus; Lydia was Oriana's friend so it would be nice to get a few brownie points stocked up for the future.
Lydia was smoothing out her dress when she saw Jackson approaching with Allison. She tried to squash the hurt and jealousy she felt and smiled politely.
"Jackson." She greeted, sweetly. "You look handsome."
Her ex-boyfriend paused and looked at her as if he hadn't noticed her presence. He scoffed arrogantly.
"Obviously. It's Hugo Boss." And with his annoyingly confident smirk and wink combo, that usually made her weak at the knees, he strode off. A blushing Allison scampered after him, avoiding eye contact with Lydia.
Lydia's eye twitched. "I don't care. I don't want compliments. I will not fall prey to society's desire to turn girls into emotional, insecure neurotics who pull up their dresses at the first flattering remark." She finished with a sharp exhale.
"Well, I think you look beautiful." Stiles told her in a sincere, friendly way.
Lydia smiled genuinely. "Really?"
He nodded assuredly and offered her his elbow. She gave an impressed purse of her lips and linked her arm with his, strutting towards the school with newfound confidence.
…
Stiles sat watching couples and groups of friends having a good time dancing, talking and laughing. He sighed boredly from his slumped seat. Jackson and Allison came into his line of sight on the dance floor, Jackson throwing Stiles a arrogant look. He rolled his head to look at Lydia.
She sat with her elbows on the table, her chin in one palm and inspecting the nails of her other hand.
"Y-you wanna dance?" He mustered up the courage to ask, hopefully. Hey, he might be over his crush but she was still the most popular and beautiful (after his) girl in Beacon Hills, and they were both bored as hell.
Lydia looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Pass." She replied and looked around the converted gymnasium in sheer boredom.
Stiles narrowed his eyes and straightened out his tie. "You know what? Let me try that again." He stood up and placed his palms against the tabletop, leaning down to look Lydia in the eye with rare confidence. "Lydia - get off your cute little ass and dance with me now." He demanded.
Lydia pointed at him in consideration. "Interesting tactic. I'm gonna stick with no."
"Lydia, get up - okay?!" Stiles cried in irritation. "You're gonna dance with me. I know that you didn't want to come here with me and that's fine because I didn't want to come here with you either. But Jackson's an ass and Oriana's MIA; So instead of sitting here like a couple of miserable losers we are going to get up and have some fun."
Lydia watched him rant, speechlessly.
"Lydia, you know how I feel about Oriana but, I used to have the biggest crush on you since like the third grade, okay? And I know that somewhere inside that cold, lifeless exterior there's an actual human soul. And I'm also pretty sure that I'm the only one who knows how smart you really are. Uh - huh. And that once you're done pretending to be a nitwit - you'll eventually go off and write some insane mathematical theorem that wins you the Nobel Prize."
Lydia closed her eyes in attempts to dry them and gave a small smile. "A Fields Medal." She swallowed.
Stiles frowned confused. "What?"
He watched Lydia stand up. "Nobel doesn't have a prize for mathematics. The Fields Medal's the one I'll be winning." She told him with a smile.
She grabbed his hand and lead him onto the dancefloor.
…...
Lydia and Stiles were dancing and laughing, actually having a surprisingly good time, when Coach's voice started echoing through the gym. They and half of the rest of the students watched Coach chase Scott around the dancefloor.
"McCall! You're not supposed to - What the hell are you do - What the hell are you doing?"
Coach came to a stop in the center of the dancefloor near Lydia and Stiles' spot. His large brown, crazy eyes looked at Scott and Danny, wrapped in each other's arms, in confusion. The music cut off
"Yes, coach?" Scott asked daringly, as he tightened his arms around Danny's neck.
Coach looked around, searching for words, and saw the judging looks of nearby students and started chuckling nervously holding up his hands. "Okay, ho - ho - ho - ha ha. Hold on, you - I was just saying he's not supposed to - I mean, I wasn't saying that he shouldn't - You guys don't think - You don't - I - I was - Just dance, everybody. Just dance! Dance! It's a party!"
Coach backed off of the dancefloor, laughing manically, as the music came back on. Stiles and Lydia looked at each other and burst out laughing.
The band started playing a slower song so Lydia stepped closer to Stiles and moved her hands around his neck.
"Wha - ? You – Ah – " Stiles looked around with red cheeks, his hands hovering in the air, unsure of where to put them.
Lydia rolled her eyes and moved his hands to her waist and replaced hers around his neck.
"Relax, would you?"
"I'm good. I'm fine. I'm just – " He cut himself off with a choking sound and red cheeks.
She raised her eyebrows expectantly and nodded for him to continue.
"I just – " He sighed heavily and looked down. "This is the first time I'm dancing with a girl. And I know it sounds stupid but…I just thought it would be with Oriana." He shrugged half-heartedly.
Her lips twitched with a soft smile. Her eyes softened.
"That's…really sweet."
He looked up in surprise. "Yeah?" He asked disbelievingly.
She nodded. "She got a dress, you know?" She told him. "She kept saying that she wasn't going to come to the dance and that there was no point in getting one but…I told her that you would ask her."
Stiles watched her speak wide eyes, hanging on her every word.
"She denied it; said that you wouldn't." Lydia rolled her eyes. "You know how stubborn she is." Stiles nodded numbly. "But she eventually got a dress, 'just in case' she said." Lydia finished with a fond chuckle.
"I was going to ask her." Stiles whispered, looking down in anguish. "But I never got the chance…"
Lydia frowned at his pained tone. Stiles was talking about Oriana as if she was gone.
"Why not? Why isn't she here, anyway?" Lydia looked around the gym for Oriana. "She wasn't at school and she hasn't been answering my calls…"
"Why are you asking me?" Stiles asked nervously; he didn't know what to say. He'd told his father that Oriana was at Lydia's, he'd told the school that she's been off sick, but he hadn't anticipated having to give Lydia an excuse for her.
"She lives with you doesn't she?" Lydia asked obviously.
"Oh, yeah, yeah." Stiles nodded. "She…um…" He gulped. "She had to take a few days…stress, you know? With everything going on she just feels a little overwhelmed…" He shrugged solemnly.
Lydia only nodded with a sympathetic smile and Stiles gave a sigh of relief as they started dancing in silence.
After a few minutes Lydia looked up and started searching the faces around them for something.
"You okay?" He asked.
Lydia nodded. "Uh…Just - need to take a little break." She assured him, looking around again.
"You mean you need to go find Jackson." He asked gently. She nodded at him sheepishly.
"I get it." And he did. Even though he thought that Jackass didn't deserve Lydia, he knew that she loved him, and who was he to judge that?
Stiles nodded for Lydia to leave. She smiled gratefully.
"Oriana's a lucky girl." She kissed him sweetly on the cheek.
He only smiled thankfully, where a week ago he would have probably fainted. This only strengthened his need to see Oriana. To make sure she was okay.
….
Lydia had been gone for a while and there had been no sign of her or Jackson since she'd exited the gym doors. Stiles was getting worried; they were still on Alpha alert after all.
Stiles finally gave up being patient and took his phone from his pocket. Jackson's phone went straight to voicemail. He almost growled.
Stiles looked over at Scott who was smiling jubilantly as he danced close to Allison and decided that he wasn't going to pop his friend's bliss bubble with a little problem he wasn't even sure was a problem.
Stiles walked out of the gym, trying Jackson's number again.
As he was exiting the gym he caught sight of the owner of the voicemail that was playing in his ear.
"Where the hell have you been?" He called to Jackson as he neared. "Did Lydia ever find you?" He put his phone back in his pocket and watched Jackson approach almost cautiously. "What? What's wrong?"
Jackson started stammering, his eyes wide with fright, "I - I was out behind the school, and I - I was - out – "
Stiles frowned, concerned. He looked Jackson up and down. The other boy's shirt was half untucked and the top couple of buttons were undone, his tie loose and off-centre. His dark suit and the bottom of his white shirt had dirt smudges. The wild look in his eye was what caught Stiles' attention.
"What happened? Jackson. What did you do?" Stiles asked impatiently.
Jackson looked at him. "I – I told them…about Scott."
…
When they had decided that Lydia had left the school, Stiles sent Jackson to search the parking lot while he looked around the back of the school. Suddenly, he saw the lights for the lacrosse fields come on from the side of the school.
"Lydia…" He gasped. He ran as fast as he could, his feet feeling like they weren't even touching the ground.
As he reached the edge of the field, he saw two figures standing in the dead centre of it. Both were familiar. Only one was friendly.
"Lydia! Run!" He shouted at the top of his lungs as he tried to push his legs faster.
It happened so fast; in a blur of strawberry blond and dark leather. And then Lydia was on the ground.
Stiles arrived just as Peter leant down next to her. Stiles had to skid along the grass to stop himself.
Peter growled lowly, leaning over Lydia, like a wolf defending its kill.
Stiles hesitated, wanting to grab for Lydia and run away from the mad wolf at the same time.
He hovered close by, his eyes locked on the large red stain on the side of Lydia's dress that was slowly but surely growing. She looked dead.
"Don't kill her. Please." He begged Peter.
Peter raised his clawed hand as he considered Stiles' plea, his mouth and chin dripping with blood. "Maybe I will. I'm sure Oriana wouldn't mind me getting rid of her competition for her."
"There's no competition!" Stiles cried, furiously.
Peter raised an amused brow, greatly reminding him of Oriana. He quickly dispelled that thought from his head. Because; Ew.
"Good to know." Peter snarked.
"Please, just – don't." Stiles pleaded, his confidence gone.
Peter tutted. "Of course not. Just tell me how to find Derek and Oriana." He countered quickly.
Stiles looked at him, the man's words sounding slurred and confusing in his mind but Oriana's name caught his attention. "W - what?"
Peter lowered a clawed finger to slide down the side of Lydia's, paler than usual, face threateningly. "Tell me how to find my daughter and Derek Hale."
Stiles eyes concentrated on Peter's threatening claw, as the words registered in his mind. "I don't know that. How would I know that?"
Peter looked at him with lightly scolding eyes. "Because you're the clever one, aren't you? And because I know how you feel about my daughter. Adoration is a particularly acrid scent, Stiles. To be honest, I was surprised that you came to the dance at all while Oriana is probably being tortured by hunters. Much less with a date. Now, tell me where to find them - Or I will rip her apart." He concluded lightly.
Stiles looked at him with thinly veiled disgust. "Look - Look, I don't know, okay ? I sw - I swear to god, I have no idea. If I did, Oriana would be safe right now." He said desperately.
Peter's eyes turned cold and hard in a second. He opened his mouth and roared in Stiles' face, "Tell me!"
Stiles screwed his eyes shut and winced at the volume. He started shaking as he answered, words spewing from his mouth before his brain even had time to process them. "Okay, okay, okay, look, I – what if he knew – "
Peter watched the teen's eyes shift around hastily, as if he was speed reading a book. He could practically see the light bulb come on in Stiles' head. "Knew what?"
Stiles' eyes were stuck on Lydia but it was as if he was looking right through her as he spoke aloud his thought process. "Derek, what if he – what if he knew he was gonna be caught."
"By the Argents?"
Stiles nodded solemnly. "Yeah."
"And?" Peter asked, shifting his weight impatiently.
Stiles sighed sharply as he narrowed his eyes. "When they were shot, he, Oriana and Scott - I think he took Scott's Phone."
"Why?"
Stiles finally locked eyes with Peter and absently noticed that Oriana didn't have her father's blue eyes. Thank god for that.
"They all have GPS now. So if he still has it and if it's still on – and Oriana's with him - you can find them." Stiles concluded, looking at Peter with a clenched jaw. He felt an unexpected wave of rage envelope him, but it wasn't directed at Peter. Well most of it wasn't. It was for himself.
He was wandering why he hadn't thought of this earlier when he and Scott could have done something about it, before Lydia had to get hurt. He thought on Peter's words also; what if Oriana was being tortured right now, as he was thinking this, while he was dancing with Lydia, while he was sitting in History class, while he wasn't spending all of his time looking for her? If only he'd looked deeper, thought harder; maybe he could have saved Oriana.
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