War isn't over • LM / SS

Chapter 31 - the girlfriend status

He chuckled under his breath, rolling his eyes at her dramatics. Ever the theatre kid. Even if he wanted to he couldn't change the future. All the risky things he had done pushed aside, he would never dream about messing with prophecies. It was unknown territory— for all he knew, he could destroy everything in a split-second impulsive decision.

She sighed heavily, allowing gravity to take over the porches rocking without her magic boost. "I honestly don't care what you saw. You and I both know I'll be outliving the lot of you," she laughed, trying her best to lighten the mood.

Ducking his head and laughing, he didn't doubt that she was right. If someone would outlive their friend group, it was her—— she had managed to survive the benefactors' million-dollar hit on her head. Even if there was some truth behind the vision, there was no one better suited to defeat the nogitsune. Most of them had lived to tell the tale once, why did it matter if they increased that number?

Lily pushed down on the handle leading to the back door, peeking her head outside to see where her best friends had disappeared to. Chatter drifted out to the porch, the twins craning their necks and peering over their shoulders with identical smiles. It made them look youthful and unharmed by what the world had to offer. "Am I interrupting an important convo here?" they pouted, pointing a manicured nail at the pair.

Sometimes Jade wondered if they fucking came out of the womb like this; without so much as a perfectly curled hair out of place. She must have changed their nails in two days; these were bubblegum pink with a selection of hearts designed on top, contrary to their eye-catching red. "Because if I am, blame Blair, she told me to find you," she explained quickly, waving a hand through the air as they spoke. It was a striking resemblance to talons.

From the depths of the kitchen, someone shouted a reply that they couldn't quite make out, but they had an idea that Blair was trying to defend herself. With a hmph of defeat, Jade folded the blanket into a little square and returned it to the wicker basket.

Max groaned when the two girls expectedly turned to him, lamely trying to hide behind a pillow. Covering his head with his arms, Jade used that very pillow to attack him. Lilith held out her hands to help him up. "Come on," they sang, wiggling their fingertips in his direction. He grabbed one of her free hands, yanking himself to his feet and laughing. 

Lily always knew how to do that, somehow. When it had been the worst day, she could smile and you had to smile too. It was like a yawn spreading throughout your classroom on a Monday morning when the rain drummed on the windows and your eyes were bleary from sleep.

The kitchen was chaotic when they stepped in; Scott and Liberty were preparing a bunch of pictures of experiments and Stiles scrolled through a lengthy Word document on his laptop while Nate and Liam hovered over his shoulder. Kira came out of the living room with Malia in tow, both girls holding lots of blueprints. Despite this being a pack meeting, the alpha in question had decided to take a step back for today and let Blair take over. She flipped through an old, battered folder at lightning speed while Parrish stood beside her (and watched her like a love-struck puppy).

Blair spun on her heels as the back door clicked shut, folding her arms over her lemon cardigan and fixing the trio with a tired smile. "I simply asked where you were and she decided to go on a manhunt," she lifted a stencilled brow at Lilith as she hopped onto one of the countertops with a shrug.

Sorting through a photocopied replica of her bestiary was easy while the others got settled for the meeting. Most had surrounded the island in the middle of the room while others (particularly the more restless of the group) had opted to sit on any available surface— or in Nathan's case, the floor.