I N S T I N C T | Jackson Whittemore

30: wtf, gerard?

WTF, Gerard?
Chapter Thirty

Annie ran into the school, trying not to be late for first period. If Stiles and Scott could hold off with the whole "being caught and arrested since Mr. Whittemore knows Jackson's missing" thing, then she could use her free period second hour to warn them.

She ran frantically into the office, and sat down just as the bell rang. After taking out her phone and debating to text Allison or not, deciding not to because her parents read her texts, the door to her grandfather's office swung open and he strode out with a smile on his face.

"Annie, hello, dear," he smiled, and Annie mentally cringed as he embraced her in a hug. This man will never be her grandfather, he's too cruel minded and creepy. "Did you get to school okay?" he hinted at their conversation from this morning.

Annie nodded, plastering a plausible smile onto her her face, "Perfectly."

Gerard nodded, "Okay, well can you do me a favor, and run to Mr. Mathis's room. Pull your cousin from her class, I'd like a word with you both," he smiled, but Annie could tell that it didn't reach his eyes. He wasn't as good of a liar as she was.

"Is everything okay?" Annie asked, getting up from her seat.

Gerard nodded, "I'd just like to see you both," he smiled.

Annie cautiously left the room, and began to walk to her cousin's classroom. Behind almost every corner, there was a small camera, watching each inch of the hallway. She eyed them suspiciously, not caring if someone was watching her or not. Finally, she made it to Mr. Mathis's room and knocked on the door before entering.

Right away, she could spot Allison in the class. Her brunette hair was curled, and she had on a bright, red lipstick. She looked beautiful. Annie shot her a look before walking up to to Mr. Mathis and smiling, "Hi, Mr. Mathis, my grandfather was wondering if he could borrow Allison for a moment?"

Mr. Mathis nodded and pointed at Allison, curling his finger, telling her to come to the front of the classroom -- and she did just that. Her hands were shaky as she carried her books, and Annie could already tell she was assuming the worst.

"Thank you," Annie nodded, leading her into the hallway. As soon as the door shut, Allison began to bombard her with questions, and she immediately hushed her. Annie plastered on a fake smile, and looped her arm through Allison's, "Keep your voice down and act normal," she spoke through gritted teeth. "Left corner, 2 o'clock," Annie said, pointing out the camera watching their every move.

Allison casually looked at it, and then back to Annie, "More and more are appearing around school," she whispered. "Gerard has to be behind it."

"Our entire family is behind it," Annie scoffed. "We caught Jackson last night..." she inhaled sharply, "The police know that he's missing, but I haven't had a chance to run out to the Preserve and warn Scott. I'm going to take my free period next hour, but till then, Gerard decided he wanted a family meeting with his favorite granddaughters."

Allison nodded, trying to process as much as the story she could in the small amount of time it took them to walk from sophomore hallway to the office. They entered the building quietly, and walked into Gerard's office with their heads held high.

Allison watched as Annie randomly started laughing, adding to their act, "You're kidding? Sam said that!" she giggled, smiling up at Gerard. "Here she is," Annie smiled over at Allison who returned the gesture. She was jealous of how calm and perfect Annie was.

The two granddaughters took a seat in the office chairs across from Gerard's desk, smiling brightly at the crusty, creepy, old fart, "Sounds like you two are getting along well. Maybe you should do something after school... what do they call it these days, 'hang out,' I think?"