The last thing James "Jay" Hale ever imagined was to begrudgingly return to Beacon Hills, find out his older sister was murdered, and then be forced to go on a wild goose chase after an enigmatic Alpha that seemed to have a particular interest in ru...
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CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO: Nothing In My Life To Smile About
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"Can you get off your phone for one second? Honestly, Jay, you're almost as bad as me."
Both Allison and Lydia watched as Jay nearly faceplanted on the escalator, not seeing the moving step while he was too busy staring down at the unchanging screen of his phone. He'd been distracted ever since they picked him up and wasn't even trying to hide it.
But he refused to believe he was as bad as Lydia, and he resented the idea enough to shove his phone back into his pocket and resist the urge to check it for the millionth time. Sure, Derek may be dying after apparently getting kidnapped by hunters while Jay was lounging around watching Star Wars and attempting to catch popcorn in his mouth—leading to having buttery hair courtesy of Stiles' bad aim—but he was no Lydia Martin. After days of foreboding silence, he would not check his phone over and over again for a call or text from the man. Definitely not.
Except, just at that moment he felt his phone buzz in his pocket and he scrambled for it, nearly throwing the device right off the side of the escalator in his haste.
Message From: Stiles.
DUDEDONOTASKALLISONSHEWILLKILLYOU
plzplzplz x10029393
thats it u leave me no choice
i know scott said to keep her safe rn bc of the whole peter going after her to find derek thing, but cant you just... not
like if the argents are gonna kidnap derek, that totally means ur next!!!!!
Jay was about one second away from blocking Stiles' number once and for all, but he took a calm and measured breath instead. He had priorities. Such as the brunette devil spawn girl standing right next to him.
Okay, Allison wasn't that bad. She was his friend, and that was the only reason he was going to try and go about the topic in a calmer fashion than usual and try not to mess anything up for himself, her, or Scott. All he was going to do was ask if she knew where Derek was. That was a pretty reasonable thing to find out.
Both Lydia and Allison raised a brow at him and his phone, and he shrugged. "Just waiting for a text from someone important." He glanced over at Allison while he said it and she turned away, staring down at her nails guiltily instead of meeting his gaze.
The day had turned into a test of some sort between them. Jay would try to subtly press about werewolves and Derek's kidnapping, and Allison would try to hide the fact that she knew anything about anything. He could tell something had changed with her, especially the way her gaze seemed to linger a little too long on him through the rearview mirror in the car ever since she picked him up. She would stare at his mouth, almost as if waiting for the sharp canines to come out. She would look piercingly into his eyes as if waiting for them to flash an odd colour. She looked both like she was desperate to tell him something, but scared of uttering the words out loud because then it would become all too real.
