NIGHT SCHOOL
______________
c h a p t e r e l e v e n
Running into the science lab, they all pant, trying to hide from "Derek."
"Oh my god, I can't take all this running. It's not even track season," Carson pants, trying to catch her breath.
"Jackson, how many people can fit in your car?" Scott asks.
"Five, if someone squeezes on someone's lap," he responds.
"I vote Allison. She's the skinniest," Carson raises her hand.
"Five? I can barely fit in the back," Allison interjects.
"It doesn't matter. There's no getting out without drawing attention," Stiles shuts them down.
"What about this? This leads to the roof; we can go down the fire escape to the parking lot in like, seconds," Scott walks them over to a door.
"Deadbolt," Carson and Stiles say.
After a bit of whispering, Scott announces, "I'm getting the key."
"Like, off a lifeless corpse? Gross, but ballsy," Carson smirks.
"Are you serious?" Allison whines.
"Well, it's the best plan. Someone has to get the key if we wanna get out of here," he explains.
"You can't go out there unarmed," Allison stresses.
Therefore he pulls out a pointing stick. "You must not have a very high IQ," Carson squints.
"Well it's better than nothing," he defends.
"There's gotta be something else," Stiles groans.
"Wait, Lyds. What was that thing you were telling me about when I almost burnt the chem lab down?" she snaps her fingers.
"A self-igniting Molotov Cocktail," she smirks.
"Self-igniting..." Stiles repeats.
"Molotov Cocktail," she finishes.
"We don't have a key for that either," Scott points out, so Jackson just bashes into the glass.
_____
Handing over the beaker, Allison interrupts, "No, This is insane, you can't do this. You cannot go out there," she starts crying.
"We can't just sit here waiting for Stiles' dad to check his messages," he says.
"You could die, don't you get that? He's killed three people," she emphasizes.
"And we're next. Somebody has to do something," he walks over.
"Scott, just stop," she yells before going off on some tangent that Carson tuned out for the sake of her ears. But it made her wonder something.
"Stiles, why are you so okay with this?" she looks over.
"What do you mean?" he responds.
"Jackson and Lydia are both selfish sons of bitches, and while I love Scott, I want to get out of here, but Scott is your best friend and while I don't expect you to whine like Allison, I assume there'd be more push back," she tilts her head, reaching out to touch his arm. "Whatever's going on, you can tell me."
"I-I just want us to get out of here," he looks down.
"Hm," she frowns, able to tell he was lying.
_____
After a few minutes of waiting for the boy, Allison breaks the silence.
"I don't get this. I don't get why he's out there, why he left us, and I can't-can't stop my hands from shaking," she cries.
"It's okay," Jackson comforts her, making everyone in the room look in confusion.
"Is there a reason why I've never seen you give Lydia half the support you're showing Allison right now? Or are you just being an ass per usual?" she steps between them.
"Carson," Allison gasps.
"Not talking to you, Snow White," she doesn't even turn her way.
"Carson it's okay," Lydia looks down.
"No, it's not. Everyone here could say that Jackson is acting completely out of character tonight. Suddenly he cares about other people?" she steps closer. "I'm completely shocked."
"Carson, don't mess with me," he seethes.
"Why? You gonna steal my girlfriend too?" she smirks.
"Maybe you're just angry about the fact that someone isn't focused on you for once," Jackson steps closer.
"Okay, let's step away, maybe cool off," Stiles gets between the two.
"Carson maybe you should relax, you're not exactly making this night any easier," Allison turns.
"And your whining has?" she flips her hair, Stiles making a 'stop it' gesture to her.
"Fine," she rolls her eyes, sitting on a desk in the corner, and Stiles sits next to her.
"What's going on?" he asks.
"I'm scared, Stiles," she looks down. "When I get scared, I get mean. I don't mean to make it worse for everyone. I'm just scared for myself and you and Lydia and Scott and Allison."
"It's okay to be afraid," he tentatively grasps her hand, and they lock eyes for a moment, before Lydia speaks up.
"Jackson, are you sure you gave me sulfuric acid? It won't ignite if it's not," Lydia looks over at the bottles.
"I gave you exactly what you asked for, didn't I?" he snaps.
"I'm two seconds from punching his face in," she whispers to Stiles before some growling occurs, making Jackson fall and start screaming.
"What is that?" Stiles points to the scab on his neck.
"It's been there for days, he won't tell me what happened," Lydia narrows her eyes at him.
"As if you actually care," he sneers.
"Watch how you're talking, Jackass," Carson snaps.
"Or what?" he growls.
"Once again, gonna need you to step back," Stiles gets in front of her, threatening Jackson.
She looks at him with a hint of a grin, a feeling she couldn't quite place making its way through her.
Suddenly, Scott walks past the door, locking them in. This naturally causes Allison to freak out, giving Carson another reason to wish for sudden hearing impairment. Eventually the cops come around the same time, letting them out of the school safely.
____
Sitting by the front entrance, Lydia walks up to Carson.
"Thanks," she smiles.
"For? I'm not the one who tried to save us," she chuckles, patting the space next to her.
"Defending me. I don't appreciate it enough, but you're always there for me. So thank you," she looks down, fidgeting with her purse.
"Well we don't have these rings for nothing, right?" she lifts her hand, "Best friends til the day we die."
"And forever after that," Lydia smirks, touching her jewelry.
"Do you need a ride home?" she asks, gesturing to the Porsche.
"Yeah, just give me two minutes?" the brunette stands up, brushing off her skirt.
"Of course," she nods, ready to go to bed.
Walking over to her two best friends, she felt disappointed. Betrayed, even.
"Carson, are-" Scott tries, both boys stepping closer. Of course, she only steps farther back, causing hurt to flash across their faces.
"Hm no, I talk this time around. For weeks now, I have dealt with you two acting like complete weirdos and ignored it. You bail on promises, you're jittery-- even for you Stiles-- and you're lying like hell. But that doesn't even hold a candle to whatever the hell you were on tonight. So I'm giving you a chance now to tell me the truth," she speaks to them, almost like a mom scolds her children.
"We don't know what you're talking about," Stiles lies, a hurt look crossing her face.
"Yeah, we're sorry if you think we're acting weird but there isn't a reason," Scott adds on, her face projecting even more pain.
"Okay, we're going that route. Got it. You know what, since you two love secrets so much, why not just refrain from talking to me at all?" she looks down, wanting to cry, but keeping herself from doing so.
"What?" Stiles has the hurt look now.
"I have to go home," she starts walking away.
"Wait Carson! Are we not friends anymore?" Scott yells, getting no response back.
"Did I just lose my girlfriend and best friend in a matter of five minutes?" He whines, frantically turning to Stiles.
"Yeah, I think so," he says, still staring at where Carson walked away. "She just... She just left."
Meanwhile Carson spends the car ride wondering what they're hiding. She was determined to find out, but she'll wish she didn't.
___________
author's note: so we get to see a less surface level example of the Carson+Lydia friendship. also, it might seem weird that she's upset, but remember she's been holding in the fact that they've been acting weird and tonight was the last straw.