Brother || Teen Wolf

Chapter 24 - Alone

It's only when the people you care about the most are taken away from you that you realize how much they mean to you. Stiles knew that all too well and this particular morning, he couldn't help but wonder where all his friends were. For the first time in years, he was alone without any idea what his friends were up to.

He had caught a glimpse of Scott and Allison leaving the parking lot earlier that morning, not sparing a glance at anything else than each other. He hadn't heard from Jamie since the night before, when he and Lydia had left Stiles' house. And...

And that was it. Stiles didn't need long to check on his friends, for he only had two.

Of course, he was quite well known among the Beacon Hills High School students, after all he was the Sheriff's son and he held the school record of detentions. Some people waved at him in the corridors, but they were no more than acquaintances.

A sense of loneliness came over him as he sat down in chemistry class. The other students were talking and laughing, discussing regular teenage problems he should have been able to relate to. But Stiles had other concerns, far more deadly and pressing than who was dating who.

Stiles let his eyes wander on the faces of his classmates until they rested on Danny. He was alone as well, Jackson nowhere in sight. Stiles had always found it curious, how such a genuinely nice and caring person like Danny could be best friends with the arrogant lacrosse captain.

"Just a friendly reminder, parent-teacher conferences are tonight," Mr. Harris announced in a loud voice, startling Stiles. "Students below a 'C' average are required to attend. I won't name you, because the shame and self-disgust should be more than enough punishment. Has anyone seen Scott McCall?"

The chemistry teacher looked at Stiles inquisitively. The student looked back at him like he had no clue where Scott was -- exactly what the teacher expected. However, this time Stiles knew just as much about Scott's whereabouts than the older man, and that was a vague suspicion the teen was skipping class.

Mr. Harris looked away and started his lecture. Stiles was keeping himself entertained by highlighting random paragraphs in his chemistry book. Class was boring without the company of his friends. Scott would have tried to take notes -- after all, he was failing chemistry -- but Jamie would have been bored out of his mind. He was always distracted in class, thinking about something else or looking at everything in the room but the blackboard. How he still managed to get good grades was a mystery to everyone.

A few minutes after class had begun, a knocking on the classroom door was heard. Stiles' head shot up, he hoped it was Jamie since he was usually late. However, the person stepping in wasn't the Tate boy -- it was Jackson. He looked pale, like he hadn't slept at all that night, and his eyes kept searching the room fearfully.

"Hey, Jackson. If you need to leave early for any reason, you let me know," Mr. Harris comforted the young man, putting a hand on his shoulder.

Stiles was now openly suspicious of Jackson. Something serious must have happened, otherwise Jackson would have been yelled at by Mr. Harris for being late. His head full of questions, Stiles resumed adding color to his chemistry book.

"Everyone, start reading chapter nine. Mr. Stilinski, try putting the highlighter down between paragraphs. It's chemistry, not a coloring book," the teacher stated in a condescending tone.

Stiles decided to ignore his teacher's comment and focused on investigating Jackson's behavior instead. His usual interrogative expression settled on his face as he turned to Danny.

"Hey, Danny. Can I ask you a question?"

"No."

Stiles did his best to appear unfazed by Danny's answer, "Well, I'm going to anyway. Did Jamie show up in your homeroom today?"

"No," Danny sighed.

"Can I ask you another question?"

"Answer's still no," Danny said, his short answers making Stiles feel like he was talking to Derek.

"Does anyone know what happened to Jackson last night?" Stiles asked, leaning toward Danny.

"He wouldn't..." Danny started, worry appearing on his face. "He wouldn't tell me."

"But he's your best friend!" Stiles replied. He hesitated for a second, then asked the one question he had truly been dying to ask this whole time. "One more question..."

"What?"

"Do you find me attractive?"

Danny didn't have a clue what to answer. He frowned in confusion, not seeing Stiles lean too much toward him but hearing him fall on the ground. Mr. Harris shot him a pointed look. Stiles scrambled to his feet and decided that was enough excitement for one morning.

When class finally ended, Stiles was still alone. His friends hadn't sent him a single text all day, which was highly unusual. The spastic boy was starting to feel neglected. He understood that both Scott and Jamie were in a relationship and that it was normal for them to spend time with Allison and Lydia, but it shouldn't be that hard to fit Stiles into their schedules. They were high school students, not overworked businessmen.

Stiles sighed and wandered off to the locker room. He heard voices inside, voices he recognized all too well. But what could Derek possibly want with Jackson?

"I... I don't know where Scott is," the lacrosse captain stuttered.

"I'm not here for Scott. I'm here for you," Derek stated, emotionless. If he had heard Stiles come in, he didn't give it away.

"Why... Why me? I didn't do anything," Jackson whispered. Stiles couldn't see him and had to strain his ears to hear, but fear was obvious in his voice.

"No, but you saw something, didn't you?" Derek pressed on, menacing as ever.

"No, I didn't. I didn't see anything", Jackson answered too fast. Even from across the room Stiles could tell he was lying.

"What was it, hmm? An animal? A mountain lion?"

"I didn't see anything. I swear. I'm not... I'm not lying," Jackson sounded like he was trying to convince himself more than Derek.

"Then calm down and say it again," Derek instructed coldly.

"Say what? That I'm not lying?" Jackson asked, his fear momentarily replaced by confusion.

"Tell me that you didn't see anything. Slowly."

"I didn't... see anything. I'm not lying," Jackson gulped.

"One more thing. You should really get your neck checked out."

Derek left the locker room, apparently satisfied with Jackson's answers. Stiles wasn't, however, and now he wanted to know what was wrong with Jackson's neck. If Derek had inquired about it, it was probably supernatural-related. The teen rushed out of the room and caught up with Derek.

"Hey there. Aren't you a bit old to be in high school?" Stiles started. Now that he thought about it, he probably shouldn't have almost insulted the werewolf. But how old was he anyway?

"What do you want?" Derek asked in return, crossing his muscular arms.

"Okay, that's one way to do it," Stiles stalled, not expecting the rude question. He crossed his arms as well but it didn't look half as impressing. "So, I was in the locker room earlier and I happened to overhear you and Jackson. Not intentionally, of course. Why would I do that?" Stiles rambled.

"To the point, Stiles," Derek growled, spitting Stiles' name like it was an insult.

"What's going on with Jackson?" the young man blurted out.

"I scratched him. It hasn't healed," Derek explained in a flat tone before turning on his heels.

"Wait, wait, wait!" Stiles shouted. "Is Jackson gonna turn into a werewolf?"

"I don't know," Derek admitted.

This was not the answer Stiles expected. Too stunned to move, Stiles soon found himself alone again. Derek was gone, leaving Stiles with more questions than answers. And so, Stiles went to the place he always visited when searching for answers: the police station.