Holding Out for a Hero ▸ Stiles Stilinski (2)

xxvii. IT'S THE FINAL COUNTDOWN

  It was Jackson's infamous Porsche.

  "What the..." I murmured, staring down at the car.

  Why was Jackson here? He hadn't been within fifty feet of my house since we were fourteen. Hell, he had a restraining order against me. I swear to God, I better not get in trouble for him being here. Another thought that crossed my mind was whether Gerard had sent him here. But then again, if he wanted to kill me, wouldn't he have already done it?

  I made no movement as I stared down at the car. In the front windshield, I saw someone lean forward. Jackson was still in human form and I could see him cocking an eyebrow at me. I put my hands out in a 'what the hell' gesture. He replied by gesturing for me to hold on.

  Seconds later, my phone buzzed in my pocket. So now he decides to text me. I rolled my eyes as I pulled it out and unlocked it.

FROM: JACKASS
I'm driving you to the game. Get your ass down here.

  There was no doubt in my mind that this was the real Jackson. Still demanding as always. I shook my head while scoffing and I replied.

TO: JACKASS
I'm not going, Jackass. Get off my property before I get arrested because you're within 50 feet of me.

FROM: JACKASS
Carson, I'm being serious. I need to talk to you. It's about the game.

  I bit my lip. If he knew something, about anything pertaining to what Gerard was planning, it could be a massive help. I wasn't really sure how the kanima-master bond worked and when the master was Matt, Jackson seemed to know squat about what was going on. But maybe with Gerard it was different. It was worth a shot.

  It could possibly be a shot in the dark, but I was going to take it.

  "I better not regret this Whittemore," I muttered as I slipped my feet into my Vans.

▿ ▴ ▿

  I had been in Jackson's car for a total of fifteen minutes now. He hadn't said a damn word to me. And we were almost at the school.

  "What was the point of this?" I asked, breaking the silence in the car. "Because if you're here to bore me to death, I think it's safe to say you accomplished that."

  I could see his knuckles whiten as he gripped the wheel tighter. "Something's going to happen tonight, isn't it?"

  I groaned, turning to look at the blonde boy. "Are you telling me you know nothing about what's happening tonight? What the hell did you bring me out here for?"

  "I figured you and the two losers knew something," Jackson snapped.

  I rolled my eyes. "You're ridiculous. So now I'm forced to attend this stupid game when I wanted to avoid it to begin with. Watching people die wasn't really on my agenda tonight, Whittemore."

  I could see Jackson balk out the corner of my eye but the car kept driving smoothly along. At least he didn't swerve or anything. I don't really feel like dying today, either.

  "Die?" he panicked.

  "You do realize that when Matt was controlling you, you killed like a dozen people, right? You're a weapon of vengeance, Jackson. And now that Gerard is in control, I have a feeling all of our friend's blood is going to be on your hands."

  His expression tightened and he bit his lip as he pulled into the school parking lot. All around us, people were cheering and heading over to the field and the locker rooms to support their friends and children.