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Track 01 - It's Not Over Yet by Klaxons
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{Friday; Evening - Argent's House, Chris' Study}
"Come on, how long will this take?" whined Kate. She crossed her arms and remained in the doorway, blocking passage as petulant siblings are known to do. "I only popped in here because I wanted to show you something."
"Work can wait for one night, Kate." Chris momentarily endured her and stayed back keeping a low tone, despite the attempt at sounding commanding his voice had a lilt of amusement.
"After a night like last night?" she contended. "Supernatural activity was crawling out of the woodwork, Chris. Literally."
When he bypassed her blockade and moved through the couches in the den, through the hall complaining steadily.
"We know, Kate. We were there," he snapped back, brothers can only tolerate so much.
"Don't you want to get ahead of this?" her voice rose in excitement as she took post in his study's doorway. He glared at her quickly and she stood back with a wry grin.
"It can wait through one family dinner," he answered opening the liquor cabinet. She popped up beside him once more.
"How many courses though? They're teenagers; I'll bet they'll even want thirds of dessert," her argument continued. Their eyes ran along labels in unison, and she pulled open the fridge compartment while he pulled down top-shelf items.
"Be a grown-up, Kate," he banged the cabinet closed, shoved a bottle of white wine and a decanter of whiskey into her hands while he swapped it for the beers she chose, "drink some more wine with your meal."
"That is true," she calmed a little and led them back. She gained dominance with each step, not that her earlier mission was forgotten, more that she found this distraction worthy of attention.
"Well," she shook the decanter, "these free refills are better than the Diner."
"I hope that's code for 'I'm going to be on my best behavior,'" Chris condescended since he had no idea what she was referring to. Instead, she grinned and descended on the dining room like any good Hunter over their prey.
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Track 02 - Boom by Laleh
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{Argent's House, 1st Floor, Dining Room}
After locking Prada in Allison's bedroom, without that comfort the act of dragging her chair beside her Mom's, Lydia expressed a need for security. She had come to the Argent's for R&R but instead she got a replay of the Diner from the night before, this time with an audience.
"I overstepped?" she whisper-asked and Lydia shook her head in reply. Her Mom touched her shoulder lightly as she took a seat, recognizing Lydia's brave-face.
"Not if you let me have some of your wine," they held a look. Around them was a buzz of people making do with the event, but they stay unaffected, a little forgotten island.
"Only the white," Natalie instructed in a feigned stern tone to which Lydia nodded. When her Mom's eyes travelled the room to lock intently on Stiles as he practically flailed around the kitchen, and Lydia felt as though time travel swallowed her up. Half-boy, half-man and not very changed from what they'd anticipated of 10-year-old Stiles if anyone could anticipate something of a 10-year-old.
"He's really okay," Lydia assured her. They followed him with their eyes and without looking Lydia poured the last from her Mom's bottle of red.
"How do you know?" Natalie looked back to her daughter. She touched the glass, running her hand lightly along the stem. She wouldn't drink more right away. No way would she let her guard down, no way would she leave her daughter vulnerable under her watch and no way would a single shared bottle put a dent in her tolerance.
"Because I know," Lydia smiled sincerely, these were the sorts of smiles they shared at home curled up on the couch over work and coffee and hours of quietude. She ducked her head closer and reminded "I do notice things, too."
Natalie's eyes narrowed in a wordless demand of proof. The only other choice would be to ask about Stiles from the Sheriff and while she could they both would rather not.
Lydia tucked hair behind her ear and out of face to better access between the two "you remember when he doesn't get his way and it just confuses him for a second. Then he'll come back at you a million miles a minute, but his face is flushed with disappointment."
"Still?" Natalie smiled with an almost eagerness to teach the boy a lesson, "How adorable!"
With a thoughtful "hmm", Lydia sat upright and aimed her attention steadfastly to an empty water glass, unsure if she should blame herself for feeding into the boys' deception. She weighed her friends' safety against her Mom's happiness and turned the glass in her grip.
"Something like that," she conceded and kept watch while Stiles helped Allison in the kitchen, babbling a mile a minute.
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Track 03 - Black Sheep by Metric
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{Argent's House, adjacent Kitchen}
"It's a nightmare just bringing your boyfriend home to meet your parents," Allison muttered while she counted out the dishes and silverware from the cupboard. "This is a blitzkrieg bringing your Werewolf boyfriend and his Werewolf best-friend for dinner."
She glowered at him when she noticed Stiles bit his cheek in an attempt not to laugh as humor shown all over his face.
"Well, if it's no comfort at all," he started in a tone that exaggerated sincerity, "more precisely the world's against you. It's your shunned Werewolf boyfriend, his Werewolf best-friends and your Banshee best-friend, plus her mom..."
As if to make up for his awfulness he helped carry kitchen stools to the delightful 'Delightful Dinner at the Argents.'
She had no need to say aloud that his attitude was no way to ask for a favor, especially not one as big as he had asked of her. He made a face of apology which she considered accepting and only after she elbowed him hard enough to knock over his carefully balanced stack of stools.
Because the dining room table intended to seat 6, they were left in need for 3 more seats, all three boys jumped at the chance to help get kitchen stools to ask for help, but Stiles zipped through limbs and through the entry way before Allison finished her statement.
The time in the kitchen gave them a 2-minute breather that Stiles took full advantage of. Allison knew Stiles reputation for quick wit and fast speak but she had never experience that amount of word vomit. He spoke of observations in the terrain, in the deaths pattern, in migrations, in his travelling on the roads and all he needed to find his family. And how to get peace of mind all he needed was the simple act of matching Argent family's investigation spread maps to his. She wished his notes weren't so exacting and he wouldn't have gotten so fired up when he spoke.
"Don't answer now," he said and looked at her intently with dark eyes that bore through her and read each and every insecurity she felt at that moment. He had to know what predicament he put her in, he had to know asking this of her put her in harm's way but appealing to her investigative heart fed an addiction and he could hear that tension in each pump of it.
When he rolled his notebook up and shoved into his back pocket, she fought the impulse to snatch it out and scour the pages and feed on the notes.
"Did you tell Scott? Isaac?" she inquired. He walked farther and farther away shaking his head and it tormented her. It wouldn't just solve plots unanswered, but it could help her friends. 2 minutes was all it took for Stiles to get under her skin in the best way and when they looked at one another over the kitchen counter next, it was a look of narrow eyes and mischief.
As for whom they could trust...
After he re-lifted a stool from beside the kitchen counter and stacked it over another on top of another on top of a third, he reconsidered a detail or two.
"Should I bother pointing out you've got an Aunt in there who is she probably mocking you because she knows your predicament, and that your parents don't know and know they don't know," he gave a little amused snort as he carried the stools and led the way back to the dining room. "I hate to tell you this Allison, but you can't trust that lady."
The dishes teetered loudly in her sturdy grip as she muttered under her breath "tell me about it".
His hearing picked up on her embitterer repertoire, Stiles burst into laughter as they stepped into the dining room. Whatever his expectations of her when he walked into Allison's home, he was right not to underestimate her appetite for 'The Hunt' but the fact that she considered Scott first was one of many pleasant surprises.
"What's so funny?" asked Victoria politely, wanting in on the joke. She relieved him of the topmost stool and helped place them around the table, but Stiles only shook his head in reply. "Shame. You seem in such a good humor, the rest of us could sure benefit from it."
Stiles looked around the room and could tell she told the truth; Kate took a seat at the head of the table while Lydia had pulled a chair very closely beside her Mom on the other end and no one else sat. Chris, Scott, and Isaac all hovered in their own respective circles of air.
Allison's anxiety sky-rocketed and she knew Stiles must have sensed it, how could he not understand the pressure to help detangle this mystery but all they could do was pick it apart one string at a time.
"Sorry Mrs. A, I save all my best material for her" he grinned toward Allison. It looked like she choked on how unexpected her laugh was in her own ears.
While they shared the task of reposing the seats, Mrs. Argent made it her mission to place the people right along their way. She even grabbed hold of Mr. Argent and supplanted Kate for him at the head of the table assuring everything would be perfect.
As they went around settling the last of it, Allison looked to Stiles another look that meant 'before we get through that, we've got to get through this.'
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Track 04 - Middle of the Night by Leonard Friend
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{Argent's House, 1st Floor, between the Den/Dining Room}
"Look at her out there," Chris grumbled and in turn she followed his line of sight "she looks as bad as one of the kids."
"Is it so bad to look like you're enjoying yourself with your daughter?" his wife smiled at him, a slow thin playful measure dragging him away from gloom to cheer.
"There is enjoying yourself and looking like-" his face pinched in concentration, "I don't even know what that looks like? She is just grinning too much."
"You're complaining that she is grinning too much," Victoria neared, glanced from the dining room to her husbands' face in amusement.
"Not complaining," he came back with quickly and she mimicked his pinched face in reply instead of a criticism. "What? I grin."
"I've never seen it," jested Victoria. She pulled a bottle from his hands and tugged his arm to follow her along from the hallway into the dining room. "Chris, there will come a time where you'll find a way to bond and grin with your daughter. I just hope it'll be because of punch lines and not punching guys."
"Doubtful," he smiled easily, privately and unseen down to his wife.
"Try," she encouraged. She ordered Kate to change seats then made a show of where she put the decanter, of where she placed the bottle, on the table or on the counter, until she stood once more beside him when she knew he really wanted to complain.
"Before, was that a suggestion or a direction?" he asked, leaned up to kiss her cheek.
"Guess," she smirked gently shoving him back into his seat.
"Whatever you command-" he replied. After having placed him at the head of the table, he held her hand for a moment before she broke away.
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Track 05 - It's Time by Imagine Dragons
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{Argent's House, 1st Floor, Dining Room}
"This is a waste of my time," Kate muttered while the kids played musical chairs.
"We just talked about this. Trust your team. Or didn't you train them up right," leaning forward Chris said snidely.
"Like you trained Rumy and Bennet," after a long sip of newly opened Sauvignon Blanc, she leaned toward him and whispered back. "To leave a mess upstairs that half my crew has to come in and clean while your guys hang back with the locals."
"Wow, Sis," he grinned widely, at least mildly acknowledging her discomfort. "Tell us how you really feel."
"I really feel like you made a mess of things, big Brother." She wouldn't normally go for a critical tone, but she seemed like she had ants in her pants, and she didn't like being derailed.
"If you don't like how things are run than you know what you can do-" he sat back and served himself a glass.
"I came to do what you asked me to do which is sort out a mess," she smirked, her voice a wry play for diversion.
"Are you planning a coup, Katie?" his expression punctuated amusement but the dry kind. He wasn't accustomed to being territorial, he wasn't accustomed to laying down roots, but Beacon Hills was a magnet of a town ever since they were kids. He was loathed to admit it, but he felt possessive of it. One might even use the word protective.
"Big Brother Chris," she said lazily, leaning further toward him for effect. "If I were planning a coup I wouldn't sneak around under your nose or in the backyard I would come up to you and say it."
"Not like Father," he pointed out, his expression turned hard, and he drank from his glass again. All gulps no sips.
"Nope, not like Father," she agreed and lifted her glass in solidarity as her tone turned cooler. "Which is exactly why we have stayed on separate sides of the states."
"Which is why we need to get back on the road," he grumbled, readjusting in his seat a physical depiction of his mindset.
In a perfect contradiction to his sentimentality toward Beacon Hills he also wanted out. The place held too many ghosts, the personal kind.
"I miss you like nuts," she laughed lightly but her uneasiness shone. "But you know we can't work a job together, we'll kill each other."
"I thought you were going to kill each other right here," Allison spoke up creeping around them both while she settled placement of plates and silverware before them (the good kind).
"Hey," said Chris in a calm tone to assure her everything was fine, "just being siblings. Aren't you glad we stopped at one kid?"
"They stopped at perfection," Kate concurred practically purring when she reached up as Allison passed to stroke Allison's cheeks. Allison rolled her eyes and continued pairing napkins with settings.
"We're nothing compared to a coven up North," Chris said off-handedly. He tried to relate to his daughter, unfortunately only Hunter tales popped out. "They decide who leads by having the next sovereign line's set of twins fight to the death. Winner rules until next twins are born."*
"Gross," Allison grimaced in discomfort and froze in her task, "what happens if one of the twins is reabsorbed during the pregnancy?"
"Maybe you should go help out in the kitchen," said Kate before she pushed Allison back to her tasks. The dining area was uncomfortable enough with Victoria bossing people around there was no need to add theoretical life cycles of supernatural species before appetizers.
"Enough shop talk," suggested Chris after another sip of wine to cleanse his palette.
"Agreed," Kate raised her glass in another cheers and then drained it.
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Track 06 - Runs In The Family by Amanda Palmer
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It was the sort of thing that mattered because titles like 'home' mattered when his got taken away every couple of years. So, Stiles appreciated it when Mrs. Argent apologized for misrepresenting the phrase 'home cooked meal'. She explained with a household so full they'd created a potluck system. Everyone in the Hunter household brought a dish to the table or they didn't eat.
"So, we have plenty to eat," she added, "but I can't vouch for the quality."
"And my Godfather always says he 'picked this gem up on the road' to cover up when he can't remember a recipe," pride reeked in Allison's voice while she settled the last placement beside her Father. He smiled at her, silent communications drawn from memories as he reached up and patted her shoulder.
"Now, does anyone want to help bring the potluck food in from the kitchen?" asked Mrs. Argent. At that so many volunteers ran toward the kitchen, it may as well have been a fire drill.
When they re-entered and started to take their seats, the boys volunteered sit in the stools so the family could keep comfortable which led to the unfortunate circumstance where half the table (the Werewolf half of the table) were placed in backless, almost interrogation-like chairs facing their (the Hunter) hosts.
"Whatever you do, make sure I sit away from Kate," pleaded Isaac.
"Sure," nodded Stiles, an annoyed assurance while he tried to balance several misapplied bowls in his arms.
"No problem," agreed Scott with a quick, confident smile before he disappeared behind a wall of ham.
It seemed simple, when they returned to the table Kate sat whispering beside Chris, so Isaac darted onto the stool beside Lydia despite her scowl. Scott sat beside him, leaving Stiles the nearest to Chris, a mantle he bizarrely felt obliged to take. The chance of a closer inspection into the brain of Kate Argent pleased Stiles but getting to pick Chris' had additional potential. Granted it had some potential minuses but with his friends at his back he felt confident.
Meanwhile Scott and Allison were lucky to have seats near enough where they could steal glances and not seem suspicious, of course it meant he sat across from her Mother but how bad could that get. Except it got bad very quickly.
"Kate, would you be as kind as to let me sit beside my husband?" asked Victoria as she gave Kate's arm a shove and took her seat beside her husband, chiefly the seat across from Stiles. Fine, not too big of a transition on his part that was until Mrs. Martin spoke up.
"Stiles, could you come sit over here?" she spoke tenderheartedly.
She must have read his hesitation as uncertainty instead of the jelly sensation his insides had turned into. How could she not have understood, something in her tone made everyone at the table melt a little. It certainly turned him into absolute putty.
"If you'd like to. I'd just like to look at you. You two don't mind moving down," she asked of Isaac and Scott in a manner that wasn't a question and so it didn't leave room for arguing.
Once snapped back into his skin he rushed around into the newly emptied seat beside Lydia. He shrugged haplessly when she kept her eyes on him waiting for an attack.
Lydia leaned toward her Mom, and whispered "Mom, what're you up to?"
"I'm being polite, you should try it," she whispered back sweetly.
To avoid Lydia's penetrating glare Stiles stared across from him. Staring back at him, Allison bit her lip in an attempt not to laugh but she didn't try very hard to keep the humor from showing in her face.
Much to their misery, Isaac ended up sitting directly across from Kate, and Scott (Allison's secret boyfriend) sat beside Allison's parents. The boys couldn't stuff their faces soon enough.
"This is the part of the evening where we all get to know each other," said Chris as he refilled his with whiskey glass and took a swallow, eyeing the lineup. "How do we get to know each other?"
Due to the pressure Stiles imagined he was on a game show and next they would pipe up with name, age, hobbies, and future ambitions in life.
"Would anyone like something to drink beside water?" asked Mrs. Argent, prepared to return to the kitchen for options. Possibly juice or sodas, she was answered by mumbles and head shakes that went around the table.
"You sure, we can't get you some beers?" asked Chris looking toward their guests.
Scott's awkward sputtered refusal covered over Stiles' yelp of pain. To keep Stiles from commenting sarcastically Isaac kicked him under the table while in unison Lydia dug her nails into his left arm.
"Of course, I wouldn't," snapped Stiles, he whipped his head back and forth between the two unable to get a full glare-on (what with Lydia staring blankly off while she chewed salad and while Isaac looked intently interested in everything Chris Argent said.)
"How about a shot of whiskey?" asked Chris, amused at the colors Scott turned in seconds.
"Scott wouldn't drink whiskey," Stiles felt dismay on Scott's behalf so answered for him in a disastrous attempt to try to be helpful. He wanted to point out to the dense Hunter 'Werewolves can't even get drunk!' but he caught himself before throwing Scott under the bus. It was severely unlikely that Chris figured out the boyfriend part Scott played in Allison's life but that still didn't make it cool for Scott to take the brunt of abuse due to proximity.
"Then what do you drink, Scott?" asked Chris, he leaned forward onto the table as though he could place himself nose-to-nose to glare out all Scott's secrets.
"Father. Really?" retorted Allison, her glare matched her Father's over the distance. Maybe one if not all the Werewolves at the table could sense her agitation, her heartbeat sounded like a dance remix.
"I don't drink. I'm not old enough," Scott answered sheepishly and lost his nervousness stabbing at the greens on the edge of his plate.
"That doesn't seem to stop most teens," added Mrs. Argent across from him. Her voice broke the staring contest, her incision created his escape.
"No, but it should," he smiled and stuffed his mouth full of overcooked over-roasted Asparagus he could barely keep on his fork. Beside him Isaac sniggered then did the same.
"Good answer," Natalie praised him on from the opposite end of the table. How it had turned into a game of chess with the children as the game pieces no one was sure, but she made certain to let them know whose side she was on. She encouraged him, practically "a total lie, Scott but a good answer. You might survive the night."
Stiles looked to Natalie in admiration for her resolution to stick with Scott come what may, when he noticed beside Natalie's wine glass of fragrant red, while Lydia secretly settled down a mug of white wine. His eyes went wide, mouth gapped before he rocked back (nearly falling off his stool) in an effort not to chuckle. He had wondered why and how Lydia remained quiet throughout the character assassination of the most kind-hearted person they knew. Instead, she responded with licking her lips before pressing them together in silence and nodding along with her Mom, then flashing him a quick glare to STFU.
"Maybe we've started out on the wrong foot," Mrs. Argent announced and thankfully drew the attention of the room toward her. "How about some proper introductions; I'm Victoria." She gave it her hostess best, but their response was little above lackluster. "So, you're all friends of Allison?"
Varying degrees of admittance moved from Scott's end of the table with the reluctant 'uhm, we have a lot of classes together' to the bold 'obviously' delivered with Lydia's trademarked indignation.
"It's just I wouldn't know," came her apology for any social inconvenience. She added while throwing a glance at her daughter "Allison never brings friends home."
"And you wonder why that is," she muttered as she speared at lettuce leaf after lettuce leaf with her fork before shoving a forkful of Caesar salad into her mouth.
"The ornery one here is my husband, Chris." she smiled toward him, and he grinned toward her in a way the verbalized a tiredness but solidarity. There was menace behind it whether he intended to or not, something subliminal in his Hunter nature or at least Stiles thought so. At least enough to forget to eat and sit glaringly.
"Now, I'm sure we're all going to get along famously," Chris commented cynically.
"Like all famous headlines; Assassin Kills Kennedy. Titanic sinks. Dinner at the Argents," Isaac muttered darkly toward Stiles, who brought back to himself, tried not to laugh. Only Stiles hadn't tried very hard which left the table staring at them.
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Track 07 - 'I See You' by The Horrors
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"And you all seem to know Kate," Victoria may as well have meant it as an accusation considering how it made their skin crawl.
Across the table Kate smiled at them each for a pause but none longer than Scott. He felt like the words 'caught twice in one night' had been branded across his forehead.
He smiled and focused intently to keep it from twitching. He also focused not thinking about exactly it was she intended to do with him when she brought him back to the house. Maybe this was it? Please, let this be the worst of it. Humiliation was something he had grown very much accustomed to.
When Allison's Father cleared his throat, Scott realized it was quite possible he had been staring at Kate too long. Without meaning to he fired that same grin at Chris then concentrated, tone it down, down, a little more, good now you look significantly less agonized and just this side of crazytown.
"Scott," Kate pointed toward him with finger guns, "Isaac." She moved along "Stiles and Lydia." she meant it by way of lazy introduction the boys gave a late response, Lydia gave none at all.
"And you're friends with my daughter," said Chris toward them, mostly into Scott's face due to proximity. Scott shifted in his seat. After a pause and gulping down half of his glass of water Scott explained.
"Yep, we're all friends," he took another sip before adding, "plus it helps that Allison is really friendly too."
He counted out the swishes in his mouth before gulping down the water and focused on the coolness of it bring down the heat he knew must show in his face. If Allison's Father would continue to use him as a conduit for questions, he felt like he might just burst into flames.
"And you," Chris moved onto Stiles, "you've only been back a few days but you're close enough to just turn up whenever you want?"
"Sure," Stiles could have thought of something witty but Chris seemed to be the one putting on the show at the moment.
"You've been gone 6 years," the suddenness of Victoria's voice had their side of the table jump a little "it must be a real shock getting back into the swing of things. It must be strange for the two of you."
"No," Scott and Stiles answered in unison. Scott's smile came genuinely to him, and Stiles' expression was set to smirk.
"That's hard to believe," Chris took charge after swallowing a large and loud bite of roasted ham. "I mean, just disappeared for 6 years. That's a problematic amount of time to leave and expect to be accepted naturally."
If there was a noise, a singular sound for repulsion, rejection and embarrassment Allison had discovered it and topped it off a facial expression of cool detachment. Scott certainly would have taken more time to admire it if it wouldn't have brought attention to how much he admired her. Not that everyone at the table hadn't taken note.
"It's been great," bragged Stiles and he smiled, his cheek on cheek puffed out with baked potato still in it and he held up a butter knife for emphasis. "Scott's more than my friend, he's my brother."
"That must be really awkward for you," Chris turned his attention to Isaac, Isaac in the middle of shoveling a second serving of bacon-wrapped-shrimp onto his dish.
Food served as a decent distraction from his discontent and with plenty of food Isaac was grateful for the Werewolves' metabolism because the table was in danger of being eaten straight down to the legs. He only paused when he felt the glare of a Hunter, the sort of thing he hadn't become familiar with. Chris didn't look like the sort who would repeat himself so he analyzed the scene and thought about what the play would have been and answered honestly-
"No, I guess he's kinda like family to me too. We've had rough patches but well, I trust Scott." He broke off a piece of food and popped into his mouth while he considered, his bright-eyes working over lost in thought before he nailed Chris with a bright smile. "When you meet an honest and real friend you want to stick with them, what does time matter? Plus, he's a fair Co-Captain," Isaac finished proudly and returned to munching.
Allison was first to chuckle although her Father found little humor in his underestimation. The Martin women were second to go, in near symmetry their hands went to covering mouths to smother out their giggles. Scott's face turned bright and while he didn't laugh, he couldn't find his voice in embarrassment of Isaac's praise.
"He meant Stiles," Kate corrected, a lilt in her tone. Isaac stopped mid-chew to listen. "He meant 'Is it now awkward between you and Stiles?'"
Isaac swallowed, "aw, no. He's an ass. That never changes." To which Stiles shrugged in concurrence and went on eating undisturbed, to which Allison hid her face behind her hand and Lydia's murmuring of 'jeez' could barely be made out.
"So that's it, perfect integration," Chris said, his tone made him sound at ease, but Scott felt the hairs on his arm raise. He drank more water and imagined cool rivers and warm nights and being anywhere but there, preferably with his friends. He certainly would not abandon his friends.
"Sure, if you call tests daily, the local media tracking your every move, the neighbor's constant stares and random people asking for selfies with you 'PERFECT'," Stiles' smile strained finally. "But my family and my friends, yeah... they're still my family and friends. Nothing's changed there," he gained a bit of scorn.
"But something has changed," interrupted Victoria, her tone calmer but potent. Stiles blinked at her in momentary surprise but quickly looked ready to argue. "Lydia?" she gestured with a smooth wave of her hand, a soft motion that was meant to display something important and it took Stiles a moment to catch on.
On opposite ends of the table Scott met Lydia's eyes and she looked to Scott to wonder where the escape hatch was. How had it come that Stiles was their spokesperson?
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Track 08 - Native Skin by NEULORE
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"The three of us have been best-friends forever," Scott cut-in.
"That's why it's so good to see you all together," Mrs. Martin all but swooned as she reached over Lydia's lap for Stiles' hand.
It was at that moment Stiles remembered his earlier lie and felt the weight of it, when he squeezed her hand and smiled briefly it felt to him more like an apology.
"Right," Lydia added flatly, "it's like we've never been apart." She couldn't bring herself to look at Stiles, so instead she looked to Victoria and kept her gaze confident. "Isaac, can you pass the salt?" she asked sharply to deliberately interrupt the flow and set everything back, to at least try anyway.
Isaac had done so dutifully and in the tangle of hands motion propelled sound back to the room and Allison asked Scott if he wanted more salad. Isaac offered Mrs. Martin more water and so on. Kate even grew vaguely disinterested in the topic and moved to serve herself something stronger than wine. But Victoria seemed to find an interesting thread to pull at and nothing would deter her.
"Is that what it feels like to you?" she asked despite the company's din moving on.
Stiles' keen hearing meant he didn't have to struggle but he pretended anyway, because he wanted the time to invent a new fiction. When he last left things with Lydia, he'd put her in the position to support a world-crashing lie when she would have preferred to throw him out of the Argent home. But rewinding farther, when he last left things with Lydia at the Diner, she called him out for acting like a monster because he manipulated his dead family for personal gain. Then she stormed out of one the most uncomfortable meals of his life, not unlike where they found themselves once more.
"No, yes." Stiles hadn't realized he'd been staring at Lydia while he contemplated. Meanwhile, she spoke quietly to her Mom and Allison with a hand to her head as if she had a headache.
The position hid the placement of her mug, where she tapped her fingers in anticipation for the evening worsening. That faced Stiles was a curtain of long hair and fingers peeking through where her head leaned. While he couldn't see an expression, he heard the faint tink of her ring against the glass, smelled the light tannins of white grapes clashing against her kiwi lip gloss and sensed the stiff ball of nerves and grace he had come to recognize as distinct to Lydia.
"There's a difference," he said to the back of her head because he doubted, he would say it to her face. "The biggest difference in being back is being able to say directly to someone what you've meant to for years but haven't gotten the balls to."
The table hushed; Natalie's face immediately perked up but with Lydia so near she bit down on her impulse to respond. Even Victoria seemed swept up in the moment and looked to her husband with a quick rise to her brows, in intrigue and he watched on sternly as if waiting for the table to explode.
Slowest to react was Lydia who tilted toward Stiles to prop her chin up on her hand. She had a disbelieving look on her face and waited for the penny to drop (never removing other hand's grip from the mug).
"Like an apology," he gulped around the word not because he hadn't meant it but because he knew the word wasn't large enough. "And that I'm grateful," he bit his lip while he concentrated on finding a better word and Lydia looked on amused at his misery. Her face scrunched up while she tried to figure out what he tried to figure out, "what I'm trying to say is that since being back, you know I keep f-"
Isaac coughed in a polite reminder that swearing might be a bad idea in this particular interval. After all he had gotten some dirty looks over it and Stiles wanted to make a good impression.
"...messing up" Stiles continued, "Not like I didn't 'mess' up before but thanks for not giving up," his struggle not to swear had Lydia grinning. He had to try not to laugh in her face when he finished because it would have ruined the sincerity "and I am sorry. For whatever this was and whatever comes next."
"That was almost eloquent," sighed Allison in relief. She even applauded a little, "you almost look like that didn't hurt."
"It didn't hurt!" he threw a small piece of bread at her before he thought not to. He immediately placed his hands in his lap and set himself into narrow-eyed glaring mode instead.
"What about you?"
"Hmm?" Lydia looked up, vaguely acknowledging she had been addressed. By then her mug had emptied.
"It's been 6 years?" Victoria asked with her own glass perched in her hand, her face lit up with gossip-y interest. "Having Stiles back, it must be so strange and different for you?"
Lydia sat up, straightened her posture, and let out a sharp breath "nope."
Scott coughed a bit and reached again for his water.
"What do you mean 'no'?" pressed Victoria, her disappointment leaden in her voice.
Lydia shook her head, and she made a gesture toward Isaac and gave a small smile, "it's like he said 'He's an ass. That never changes.'"
Isaac looked utterly embarrassed at having his earlier misstatement thrown in his face and Stiles looked thrown altogether. They both looked to her for some sort of elaboration only her smile extended into smirk.
"Well," Natalie said quietly, a mild bemusement throughout her voice, "that's something, I guess. It's just nice to have you all together. And if you're happy-" she placed her hand over Lydia's on the table.
Moments like these were the ones that reminded Lydia exactly why she felt no guilt tormenting the boys; for every second of upset they caused her Mom they deserved a world of hurt.
"There is one thing," she then assured the table with a smile, her winningest smile the sort saved for pageantry. "He does apologize better."
Allison giggled, even Kate gave a snort. Stiles' expression was a wordless whine of 'come on', while Scott and Isaac took a moment to evaluate if maybe Lydia was right.
"What? You do," she looked him up and down, from raggedy hoodie to muddied over Nikes. Absolutely nothing notable about Stiles had changed except one thing "you were a brat who never apologized. Now you're just a brat. I mean your apologies could totally use work. First, you ramble and take forever to get to the point. Also, you swear too much but they've all been pretty good so far. But I have a feeling you'll be putting in a lot of practice."
Of all the things Stiles had thrown in his face "what do you mean I swear too much?" he had absolutely not sworn. He looked around the table for witnesses. From back and forth from Lydia to Isaac who were totally guilty of the accusation she'd just thrown at his feet to the lily-white innocent Scott McCall who stared blankly at him.
"I haven't-I have witness-but you just went and- you heard my message?!"
"Of course," she scoffed and rolled her eyes at him, "I always check my messages."
"Why'd you make me believe you didn't get it?" his voice went uneven, and Lydia's brows creased lightly with concern, possibly even a little genuine.
"I never said I didn't get it. Why? Were you worried I'd ignored you?" she inclined her head, her voice went playful if not a little devious.
"Pfft, no," he jerked upright and tried to keep his sense of alleviation from showing, only it lit up his face.
"Must be a relief to have someone else around for Lydia to abuse," Allison said to Isaac. as Allison tried to think of a nicer word than 'abuse' she looked to Lydia to provide a synonym, Lydia in return gave her a sweet-face blank expression that articulated innocence beyond reproach. It only made Allison laugh longer.
"It is definitely something I can get used to," chuckled Isaac.
"So, you don't have a problem?" asked Chris and the levity diminished. "You know, the both of you, sharing?" he looked pointedly from Isaac to Stiles then Lydia.
Before a tsunami of outrage in defense of her could rise Scott answered coolly "food? Totally! Like last night out at Tony's. With Aunt Kate!"
In the din of voices throughout the night, of all the interrogatory questions Scott noticed Kate's had been absent. He had feared her barbed commentary all evening but then lack of it made him suspicious. Suddenly it gave him hope, even the prospect of a miracle shot. If Kate only kept him around to scare him quiet than she still cared, enough to keep the peace.
"Because that's what you do with friends Chris," she snapped at her brother and rolled her eyes to look at Scott, "you pass around and share food. Not people."
After an awkward pause a rumble of laughter grew almost imperceptibly, until it became wall of sound and no one wanted to take outright claim to have laughed at Chris Argent first, although no one wanted to stop.
"You know that wasn't what I meant," he explained himself for the second time only to barely be heard.
To which Kate responded with a furrow-browed expression of 'you should know better' as she sipped from her glass.
Leaning forward, Lydia looked to Scott once more and he looked back with a brow-raised expression of distress on his face. Lydia pressed her lips into a stern line that slowly turned up at the ends, as if her appreciation was also a command to relax. Beyond the movement of shifting friends and talking dinner guests they nodded to one another, somehow between the two of them, they 'totally got this.'
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Track 09 - Never One To Complain by Night Terrors of 1927
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"Okay. What are safe topics?" Natalie vied for relief, "How about the weather?"
Even their host Victoria had the dignity to look discomforted although she fared better by hiding it behind a dinner cloth.
Unfortunately, for Isaac he had little experience looking innocent but loads of practice at stirring the pot. So, he asked Kate, "it sure has been some interesting weather, hasn't it?"
Kate simply scoffed aloud and poured herself yet another cup of whiskey. Scott too, poured himself more water as it was a miracle his bladder hadn't burst. Allison continued to stab at her food.
"What?" well-meaning Natalie looked around at the unsettled faces, "you can't say you don't think so?"
Lydia shrugged in reply as she nibbled delicately on a piece of Salmon. It seemed with her Mom beside her, best-behavior meant 'you're mute'. Whereas Allison's venom kept her pent up and Scott's fear of saying the wrong thing kept him paralyzed.
"Well, the thunderstorm was sudden," bothered by the stillness Isaac offered a lifeline, "but isn't that what your coastal winters are like? A splash of real weather, then it's all sunshine and lollipops for the next 364 days?"
"El Niño has dried your brain because that's not even a little bit true," griped Stiles. Looking around all evening into familiar faces; it annoyed him, the outright dismissal of wet winters, where a neighborhood stream turned into a gusher creating terrain and new playful dares for him and Scott to come up with.
"This electrical storm had no effect on the coast. It barely touched a pinky in Beacon Hills, let alone the county," Natalie explained gently, hoping it would settle the confusion. While it had a quieting effect on some it unsettled others and Natalie polished off her wine and regretted, she brought up the weather at all.
Unprompted Allison went to the kitchen counter and brought back a new bottle of red wine. After topping off Mrs. Martin's glass she 'kindly' asked her to clarify what her last statement meant.
"I mean the storm barely delayed my husband- my ex-husband's flight back home," with that she took a long sip.
"Right. Dad." Lydia finally spoke and she looked to her Mom with a soft expression of sympathy. "Even the forces of nature wouldn't dare put him out. God forbid."
Lydia rose a glass of water to her Mom in mock toast "to my Deadbeat-Dad!" for someone who had said so little throughout the evening she always managed to say a lot. Although Natalie gave her a warning scowl, she lifted her glass in return.
"Anyway, the sky has cleared up and the weather has warmed up. It's like spring has sprung," trying once more for cheer Natalie squeezed her daughter's free hand. "Maybe we can go for a walk in the garden later, if Vickie doesn't mind."
Isaac wasn't sure what put him off more; the endearment of Mrs. Martin referring to Mrs. Argent as 'Vickie' or the prospective invitation to walk through her gardens? From the color change on Victoria Argent's face, he imagined she shared the majority of those feelings.
"Okay, maybe" sighed Lydia after a thought-out deliberation. "If its fine with 'Vickie'?"
Stiles choked on his food, not just in amusement because he was impressed with Lydia's talent to home in on everyone's insecurity within seconds but because he had discovered Rumy's jerk chicken.
The table tittered in amusement of nerves and genuine awe of the levels of subtlety thrown into gutter at every endeavor.
"My garden?" taken aback Victoria abandoned hostesses' benign kindness.
"I think Rumy was trying to impress me while you and Kate went to the Lodge, so he took me for a walk when the weather changed. They're really lovely." Natalie spoke as if she was reminiscing of a time long ago and she realized maybe water should be her next drink. After she polished off her wineglass, she then pulled a glass of water nearer.
"Right. Of course," Victoria answered, after she wiped her mouth when her glass had emptied, her lips the were burgundy color of her hair.
"I could also use some air," stated Allison suddenly pushing her barely eaten plate away. "I think I've shoved down about as much as I can stomach. May I be excused?"
"Really, Allison?" her Father replied in a mocking tone, "I feel like we're all just beginning to bond." And to emphasize he placed a hand on Scott's shoulder.
"Is there dessert?" asked Isaac and Allison gave him a glare he hadn't seen since she'd shot him in the forest. "I was just wondering. I didn't say I wanted any," he assured her.
"I think some air sounds like a very good idea," said Kate through an exaggerated fake yawn. "It's been a long couple of days, come on Chris. Take a walk with me."
"Allison, I'll help clear the plates with you," Lydia spoke over them and grabbed up her Mom's and Stiles' still partly full plate to keep them from arguing.
"Isaac, be a dear and help them bring the stools back into the kitchen," Natalie instructed. He looked to Stiles for a way to respond and Stiles simply shook his head and popped the last piece of jerk chicken into his mouth. They stood in unison and carried their stools to the kitchen.
Meanwhile despite her suggestion, Chris Argent hadn't made a move to follow his sister to the garden door. Instead, he stewed and glowered while nursing his glass.
"Chris, why don't you come out for a walk? It'll clear your head," Victoria insisted, while she suggested it, she made a hand gesture for their daughter to continue clearing away the dining room.
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Track 10 - Up We Go (live) on Vault Sessions by LIGHTS
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It became obvious throughout the meal that the Sheriff's kid's sudden reappearance during the town's strange events hadn't sat well with Chris. After meeting Stiles across the dinner table, his suspicions weren't assuaged. In fact, from the moment he'd met Stiles all he'd sensed were blaring lights and sirens.
"I can finish that drink for you," jokingly offered Scott. He stood to take away his own dishes and extended a hand to help relieve Chris' from his.
"Ha. Funny," Chris all but grunted, momentarily waylaid from his train of thought. After chugging the last of it he handed his glass to Scott.
Chris grinned in a manner that intimidated but Scott smiled, a quick flash deflecting any dirty look the world could throw his way. Scott had mastered his nerves to the point of deflection, he responded "Thanks Mr. Argent. And for having me stay for dinner."
"I'll be in the den," sighing in defeat, Chris pet Scott on the shoulder once and then bypassed all options and disappeared along the hall.
Looking to one another, Allison and Scott frozen in shared shock and caught their breath after surviving their first dinner with the parents. Unfortunately, a table stood between them, kisses and hugs weren't in harmony. Instead, Scott returned to clearing the table with a grin on him the size of the crescent moon, while Allison danced a little at the entryway of the kitchen where no one else but the two of them could catch sight of it.
In the kitchen the smile wiped away at the sight of Stiles clearing off dishes.
"I don't know what you did," intruded Scott, dropping his pile of dirty dishes along with Stiles' on the counter. Ignoring the annoyed hiss of 'you're ruining my system' Scott continued "but Stiles you're in his crosshairs."
"That's not important," he explained with a shrug as he went to reorganize dishes. "Bring me the platters. Lydia's collecting the glassware-"
"And silverware," she added slipping from the kitchen.
"I've got the last of the dishes cleared and ready for the machine," Stiles wiped his hands on the back of his jeans knocking free his notebook. Before it could contact the ground Scott caught it and it handed it back only from the manner with which Stiles flinched, it might have been better to let it hit the ground than for someone else to touch it. When he said, "thanks" it sounded strained.
"There are no platters left. Everything worth saving is sealed up," Isaac announced dropping Tupperware dishes onto the kitchen counter.
"Wow," Allison heaved a sigh and dropped onto one of the newly returned stools "you two are really good at this."
Isaac looked to Stiles over the counter, Stiles looked back, and they looked to Allison and Scott, and explained "big family."
A clatter brought their attention back to the forefront as Lydia sprinkled utensils into the sink. Smirking she turned with a flair "now that we've got a minute, let's make a plan."
"Plan?" Scott scanned the loose circle they formed along the kitchen's counter. He sensed varying degrees of nervousness but from their expressions he gathered a general resignation. "There's a plan happening?"
Beside him with a grin Allison nodded "Stiles came over with some ideas."
"Some really good ideas," Stiles emphasized.
"Some smart ideas about fatality patterns," Allison reemphasized. "But we'll need access to my family's records for confirmation," she proudly punctuated the word 'we'.
"While Isaac came to verify Derek's proof of death," Lydia interjected.
"I came to figure out if Kate conned me," Isaac corrected.
"Scott, with you here the trifecta is complete," then Stiles thought better of it. "The superfecta. The superfecta supreme."
"Or the team," Scott offered, and then hesitated to add "what is our team doing?"
"Committing a burglary," asserted Lydia, smirking.
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Track 11 - Lippy Kids (Elbow Cover) by INDIGΘ
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{Argent's House, 1st Floor, The Den}
Despite his Hunter senses, Natalie managed to slip into the den relatively unnoticed. She regarded the sparse décor spread throughout the room and wandered into Chris' line of sight as she neared the fireplace.
"Do you mind if I make myself comfortable?" she asked and gestured to the couch across from him.
"Make yourself at home," he said with causal sarcasm.
"I just want to wait for the food to settle then see if Lydia wants to go out for that walk," she chose the seat across from him, to look at him directly from over the coffee table. After a moment of staring in an awkward stalemate they broke into smiles.
As parents they shared a sentiment of armament; she couldn't exactly forgive him his character assassination attempt on her daughter, but she needed a 'battle-buddy'. And as capable as Victoria was, she seemed the social butterfly and not the parent that was an active participant.
"Thank you for putting up with us. I know we just barged in here and you didn't have to," she said sincerely.
"I don't see you as someone who takes 'no' for an answer. Besides, it has been entertaining so far," he admitted though a bit tired.
She nodded a little, and then conceded "I also think it's been good for Lydia. She's been having a hard time lately."
He nodded, after all he had Allison to consider, perhaps that would give her a little flexibility under his Fatherly scrutiny.
"I think it's good for Allison, too," agreed Chris. He scratched at his chin absentmindedly and added "I've seen her laugh more in the last hour than I have in the last month."
"I'm glad," Natalie beamed and considered their underlaying problem. "This is the sort of thing you wished they put in the bold on the parenting manual; 'start liking the friends on behalf of your children or you'll push them away.'"
"I don't know how I feel about that," he shook his head in disapproval but not disagreement. He looked as though someone served him something bitter.
"I couldn't stand her ex," Natalie admitted and when she said it the venom in her voice showed, "but you know I didn't dare say it. Oh, no!" she nearly laughed and had to readjust her seat to leave room for her own discomfort. The mixed feelings she felt toward Jackson filled the room with their weight. It had been that way even before his accident and with his hospitalization it made virtually smothering.
With a twitch of a smile, she reminded the obvious "you never say you disapprove, not outright. You might as well fling her at him and scream at her to lie to you. No. All you can do is stick with them and wait it out, the good bits and the tough bits."
He 'hmphed' with a smile in a little bit of respect. Chris had shown himself to be hot-headed more than once and while Natalie had a temper as well there was control, he had yet to master.
"I talked to her about Jackson earlier in the study," he mentioned, reminding himself that Natalie had a way of wheedling the truth out of you. "She mentioned visiting him in the hospital."
"I'm sure you were a great comfort to her," she prompted in a manner that warned 'you'd better have been.'
"Even though you hate him you took her to see him?" he asked, that inspect nature she had anticipated slipped through and she remembered why she preferred his company.
"Because even though she hates him now, she still cares. So, I still care," she sat straighter and lifted her chin so that he would hear her clearer. "You know, I teach kids all over the county. Sometimes for a few days, sometimes for months. You have only a little time with them, to learn their names and what makes them tick but you make yourself care."
"I didn't know you were a teacher," he sat minutely straighter showing mild interest.
"That's just my job. I'm also a Mom," she pointed a finger toward the clatter in the kitchen and the murmur of voices therein. "I care about those kids and if I'm lucky they'll be sticking around. You need to figure out how to do that, too."
Although he seemed reluctant, very reluctant he glanced over and watched for a little while before he conceded, "they seem nice enough, I guess."
Success.
"Sure are," she grinned.
At that the kids spilled into the room like soldiers called to arms.
"All finished up," Allison announced cheerfully. "Can they stick around for a bit? Stiles wanted to go over some school notes before- like a cheat for the BHHS placement for new students. We want to get into all the same classes." She swayed back and forth on the balls of her heels; behind her the rest of the kids smiled in their own increments of goodness or at least their depictions of it.
Somehow the collection of suds down Stiles' front of his clothes added to his seeming innocence. Isaac and Scott hovered just behind him like awkward yet supportive minions ready to catch Stiles from the blowback of possible rejection. With a cool expression Lydia stood beside Allison and held her hand, steadying them both and it was the sort of needless dramatic that made Chris feel a little sorry for them and made him inclined to say "Yes" before he actually thought about the request.
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Track 12 - The Greatest View (feat. Isabella Manfredi) by Flume
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Fortunately, the kitchen phone rang before Chris had to get really involved and 'gimme a minute' was as committed as he had to be.
"Are you okay?" Lydia moved to her Mom almost at once.
Over the span of dinner, it became obvious her relationships between the boys were edgy, but those edges were cushioned with a lightheartedness Natalie had rarely seen Lydia use outside of the home.
Maybe she only got on Chris' case because she noticed her daughter had begun to open up to these friends in ways she never anticipated, and it surprised her a little. But it also made her happy to see her daughter happy and that had to be enough.
"Better now," Natalie answered with a smile as she came to her feet.
Despite obviously not wanting to, Lydia smiled. "Do you still want to go for a walk in the garden?"
Natalie nodded, "Absolutely. It's getting warmer and warmer outside."
Lydia's expression changed from confusion to troubled, "after a thunderstorm? The Barometric pressure tends to go down."
"I know. Strange," her Mom's brows rose in mischievousness. "Still want to go?"
Lydia nodded, "Absolutely."
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Track 13 - No Angels (feat. Ella) by BASTILLE
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"Well, that was the Sheriff on the phone," announced Chris upon reentering the den. The triumph on his face shone like the sun. He looked to Scott as he said "he says he can't get a hold of your Mom. And while he's grateful you're looking out for his son he's pretty sure she's not going to be okay with you being here right now."
Chris looked triumphant in finally finding something to hold over Scott's head, meanwhile Scott looked paralyzed, not in fear but in confusion. Was he meant to explain himself or to excuse himself and leave?
"The Sheriff says you should stay put though," explained Chris only after he let Scott stew for a bit. "He says he'll escort you home when he picks" he turned to give Stiles an icy stare "you up."
It was Stiles' turn to quake under Chris' control. Unlike Scott, Stiles actually stumbled back a step, unsure whether he was more intimidated by the idea of his Dad turning up or Chris' harrowing delivery.
"Until then, you two are to stay put," he grinned and walked through their little group happy to part them, happy to send them scattering.
Allison looked to Isaac beside her, as if he held some answer. He at least wouldn't have to suffer the same fate, Scott and Stiles looked to one another in pained discomfort for fear of what could be worse than being under arrest. Did house arrest at a Hunter's home qualify?
"Until then? When is exactly 'until then'?" asked Stiles through clenched teeth.
After he reached for his glass and drank the last of his whiskey, which he enjoyed immensely not to mention loudly, Chris looked to Natalie and gave her a wink.
"I guess whenever 'then' will be. Probably when he gets off duty," shrugged Chris.
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Track 14 - Second Chance by Digitalism
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While the change of affairs certainly placed them in the right place at the right time- it also placed them under the under the watchful eyes of Allison's Hunter Father. Somehow this 'good' turn of events also felt like standing in a line up for a firing squad.
"Father, where are they going to spend the night until then?" asked Allison. Placement mattered.
Caught off guard with the loss of higher ground, Chris devised something devilish. Something he knew would make the boys skin crawl.
"My study," he grinned. He briefed them in the vaguest sense that the study 'could' lock from the outside (not that he would), plus it was placed ideally one floor away from the girls' bedroom and he he'd lock the liquor away. Hell, he even got the chance to throw in there a reference to his gun collection.
"Don't you worry boys, that's not where I keep the guns anymore," he clapped Stiles and Isaac on the shoulders while he guided them along the hall. "I keep the best of those upstairs by my bedroom. Where I can get to them. At any time."
"Come on Scott," Allison ignored her Father but spoke loud enough for him to hear. "Let me show you where the pillows and blankets are."
Just out of sight, she caught hold of his hands and laced her fingers through his and tugged him through the shadow with her to the corner, just enough to keep hidden behind the hall closet door.
Once out of sight she beamed at him and stole a kiss, "my Father likes you."
"H-how did you get that impression?" he asked between a pile of pillows she placed in front of his face.
"He doesn't even look at you as someone who potentially wants to have sex with his daughter," she shut the cupboard closed and carried blankets as they returned to the path along the hall.
"But that's like very not true," Scott stuttered out the words around a grin he could barely hide.
"I kind of figured that. But as long as my Father thinks of you as the equivalent of a monk, you're the one he hates least," she practically had a skip in her step.
Scott had an 'ah-ha' moment "and being the one he hates least makes me the one he likes most."
"Exactly, I'm going to go before I jinx it" she tossed the blankets on top of the pillow, her face beamed with relief she felt in that the worst of the evening was over, well until the next worst part of her evening. She left him at her Father's study door then doubled-back to whisper through the mountain of mixed cotton "I love you," as magic words to embolden him before she hurried away.
Even a pile of bedding couldn't diminish his grin because of course it worked, house arrest be damned, bring on the burglary.
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Track 15 - Very Few Dancers by Sons of An Illustrious Father
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{Argent's House, beyond the back lawn In The Lodge}
By the time Chris turned up at the Lodge, after what he considered appropriate for settling down/terrifying a few teenage boys Kate had become livid.
"This place is too small for temper tantrums," Tyhurst reminded. He looked irritated himself since he had been getting calls from the Sheriff's department across town for over an hour, but he waited obediently for Kate's dismissal.
Rumy made a snorting sound that could have been commentary or could have been from reading a bad poker hand. Norm scoffed in antagonism, adding number of Reese's Pieces to the anti.
Although having only just arrived and little to add to the exchange Chris snapped at them "shouldn't you be cleaning the house out of munition?"
The game dispersed, two separated from the game they'd set up by the fireplace. Axel Argent didn't like Chris breaking up their game, in fact his grumbling was loudest of all when he reminded moving weapons wouldn't have been an issue if Chris hadn't let pedestrians invade the house and roam the grounds.
"Everything is about invasion with you," Rumy grumbled and stretched out on the couch, deliberately putting his feet up on the coffee table in front of Axel. "Invading my home, invading my fridge, invading my air. What happens if I have to use the bathroom, then Bennet might have to go, then we'll all have to, it'll be anarchy!"
"Knock it off Rumy!" Chris rubbed his temple, feeling a headache coming on from having to deal with more children and dropped onto the couch beside him.
"Where is Livy?" Victoria questioned from where she sat lounging, reading in an armchair.
"She never comes to the Lodge," Fry sniggered, "she says, and I quote 'this place of ill repute smells of cigarettes and simpletons'. It would damage her standing just coming near, seriously she only goes as far as the gardens."
"Well, it makes the segregation easier," Rumy muttered while he bit at his thumb.
"Not this again," Axel went to his feet and left through the hall off to the rear rooms and Rumy's eyes followed. With a jab to the side Rumy directed Chris' attention to follow as well.
"Those aren't the bedrooms," he whispered.
"It's none of your business," Bennet said in a weary tone that said to Chris this was a conversation they'd had over and over.
"We're supposed to be a team, Chris. A team," he went back to biting his nail and added shaking his head to the nervousness bag of tricks. "If you're not sharing something with your team, if you're hiding something it's because you're ashamed, then it's probably something you shouldn't be doing."
"Is that a saying you picked up on the road?" Chris smiled a little trying to smooth things over.
Rumy shook his head and kept his friends stare, "its commonsense Chris."
Bitterness invaded the air and Kate crossed the room to where Chris sat, she tapped his shoulder and made a gesture for him to walk to follow. When Chris' team moved to stand with him, she said with soothing tones "no that's okay, you guys can hang out here. With Victoria," almost as if they were being babysat. Begrudgingly, they went to start a new game of poker but when Kate led the way to the backrooms Tyhurst, and Fry tagged along.
"I don't like all this tension," Chris muttered as he walked with her through hallways in backrooms.
She nodded in agreement, "I don't like the idea of us not being on the same page either Chris. But at the end of the day the one thing we can agree on is we want to keep our loved ones safe. Right?"
She came to a steel door with a large lever she reached to pull, her face was bright with excitement to share her revelation and her brother stopped her.
"Kate, before you open that door think about when we're keeping our family safe, right?" he placed his hand over hers. He thought about his wife upstairs sat indifferent with his best-friend. He thought about his home with his daughter in it full of her best-friends and he thought of his sister beside him, always so well-meaning.
"And now I want you to keep in mind what you identify as a threat."
*RE: Gemini Twins – Vampire Diaries.
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