i'm not giving up on you, willow.
[ 2.03 ]
"She's horrible."
"There's room for improvement."
"Not much room."
Willow was once again in the Argent household. After a long and exhausting training session with Chris and a younger hunter named Xavier, Willow was sent to the kitchen to get something to drink before Chris would take her home. So maybe after fixing a glass of grape juice, she poked her head around the corner to listen to the two men talk.
Chris was the more optimistic of the two, not planning on giving up on Willow.
"Look, I know she's friends with your daughter, and that you want her to be able to protect herself, but that little girl just isn't capable of fighting off a werewolf," Xavier said, shaking his head. "She'd have better luck flashing those doe eyes and asking nicely for it to let her live."
"If you're not gonna help, then just go home," Chris said, scoffing.
"Hey, you're the one that came to me instead of asking Gerard or your wife for help," he reminded him. "And I can't go home. We officially start your daughter's training in an hour. Like you said, she'll be leaving Lydia Martin's house soon."
Willow wasn't quite sure what the start of Allison's training would entail, but it would certainly be more hardcore than the pathetic sparring session that she had just participated in. Maybe Xavier was right, and Chris had a little too much faith in Willow's abilities.
Willow would never be like Allison, and that was okay.
"Now, you wouldn't be eavesdropping, would you, little one?"
Willow jumped as Gerard startled her, having come up behind her. For someone so old, he moved very quietly. She nervously chewed on the inside of her cheek as she looked up at him.
"I was. I'm sorry," she mumbled.
Gerard raised an eyebrow. "You're not even going to try and come up with a better story?"
"I'm not a very good liar," Willow admitted. "I shouldn't have been listening, but I heard Mr. Argent say my name."
"We were just discussing her progress," Chris said, coming around the corner. Xavier wasn't with him, having gone off to get ready. "No harm done from a little natural curiosity. You ready to go, Willow?"
"Yes—"
"Oh, I can run the girl home," Gerard offered, an easy smile on his lips. "You've got a lot of work to do tonight, son."
Chris looked like he wanted to protest, but the challenging look his father sent him kept him silent. So he simply nodded. "Very well. She lives in the Northside district. I told her father I'd have her home by eight, so you'll want to get a move on."
As Gerard led Willow from the house, Chris caught her eye, silently telling her to watch what she said. There were only so many things that Gerard knew about her situation, and most of them were protective lies fabricated by Allison's parents.
He knew that she knew about werewolves — he was under the impression that Kate revealed the truth to her after that attack at the video store. The cover story was that Allison pleaded with her father to teach Willow how to defend herself, not wanting her to be an easy target to the supernatural creatures roaming the streets.
As far as Gerard was concerned, Willow didn't personally know any werewolves, let alone three. He didn't know she was there the night Peter and Kate were killed. He didn't know she was there to help break Isaac out of jail.
"Warm enough?" Gerard asked as Willow adjusted the thermostat on the dashboard. It started out as a fairly silent car ride given that Willow would have rather walked home in the freezing dark than be stuck in a car with the man.
"Yes," she said, nodding. "Um, what did Mr. Argent and Xavier mean when they said they're starting Allison's official training? Hasn't she been in gymnastics and doing archery since she was little?"
"It's just a little ritual we put all our people through," he told her, not going into detail. Willow was scared that he didn't go into detail because they planned to put her through it one day. "For those that might be a little more hesitant to identify the enemy, it can put things into perspective. You don't need anything put into perspective, do you, Willow?"
"No, sir," she answered quickly.
"My son tells me you survived an attack from an alpha. That they had to explain everything to you after what you saw," he went on, watching her out of the corner of his eye. "That's why he's been working with you."
"Yes," Willow said, looking at her lap. "I was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. He had killed someone at the video store."
"And what did you think when you came face to face with the Alpha? When you saw the thing that killed my daughter?"
Willow almost flinched from the anger in his voice. "I was scared. I'm still scared."
It didn't matter that Gerard was one of the things she was scared of.
"And you'll continue to be scared unless you toughen up. My son doesn't want to push you hard because you're not one of us. Chris thinks if we bend you too much, you'll break."
Each moment in the car was suffocating, putting Willow on edge. There was a double meaning to everything he said, and yet she didn't know what that meaning was.
"I've been told I am rather delicate," Willow said quietly. She didn't want to be pushed to a breaking point.
"You'd better hope that's not true," he said, shaking his head. "Or you'll have a hard time with what's to come."
Willow held her breath for a moment as she studied him. He looked calm and collected — almost pleased. "What's to come?"
"Don't break, and you'll be around to find out."
☽︎
The gym was filled with laughter as Scott dropped suddenly from the rock climbing wall, his harness catching and suspending him mid-air. Allison had sneakily knocked his foot out from under him after he made fun of her for falling behind.
"McCall, I don't know why, but your pain gives me a special kind of joy. Right?" Coach Finstock asked, laughing as he crouched by Scott's side. "All right, who's next?"
"Jack and I," Willow volunteered, raising her hand.
"Get ready to eat my dust, Worthington," Jackson said, smirking at her as they got hooked into the safety harnesses.
Willow playfully poked his chest while narrowing her eyes at him. "No wolfy powers, Whittemore."
She didn't notice the clearly upset look on his face at the mention of werewolf powers. Jackson still hadn't told any of them what happened on the night of the full moon — which was nothing happened, as proved by the camera he borrowed from Matt. But if anyone could comfort him about the bite not working, it would be Willow. He just had to open up to her.
Coach blew his whistle, signaling for them to start climbing. He had no qualms about showing clear favoritism as he cheered for Willow to kick Jackson's ass. She was ahead by a few feet and looked down at Jackson, sticking her tongue out playfully.
"Hey, Willow," Jackson called, getting her attention. "Think you got some mud on your sneakers."
It worked, the boy knowing how important keeping her things nice and clean was to the girl. Willow looked down at her feet with wide eyes, trying to spot the mess, which gave Jackson enough time to pull ahead.
"Jackson!" she whined, realizing he was messing with her. Now he was winning. "Not fair."
"You fell for it," he said, chuckling as he reached the top. Jackson rang the bell signaling that he got there first, and his buddies on the lacrosse team cheered below.
Willow climbed to the top with a pout on her face where Jackson waited for her, a smirk on his. "Dust eaten," he said smugly.
"Meanie," Willow declared, pretending to be mad at him.
They both carefully dropped to the ground and removed the harness. Coach begrudgingly gave Danny ten dollars, having lost his bet on who would win.
"All right, next two. Stilinski, Erica, let's go. The wall," Coach ordered.
Willow made sure to tell both Stiles and Erica good luck, as they weren't the most athletic people in the class. Really, she was surprised that Erica didn't ask Coach to sit out. She didn't typically like the more extreme activities and her epilepsy was a valid reason to not participate.
At first, there wasn't any problem. Stiles did surprisingly well and made it to the top in no time. But it was Erica who seemed to freeze halfway up the wall. By the time Stiles' feet were on the ground, they could all hear Erica begin to hyperventilate.
"Erica. Dizzy?" Coach asked. Most everyone rushed over to the wall in case she fell or passed out. "Is it vertigo?"
"Vertigo's a dysfunction of the vestibular system of the inner ear. She's just freaking out," Lydia stated, crossing her arms.
"Erica," Coach called again.
"I'm fine," Erica said weakly. It was a lie, they all knew. They could still hear her crying.
"Coach, maybe it's not safe. You know she's epileptic," Allison reminded him.
"Why doesn't anybody tell me this stuff? I have to get — Erica, y - you're fine. Just - Just kick off from the wall. Th - There's a mat to catch you," Coach told her.
Knowing that she would be too scared to just kick-off, Willow quickly climbed up the wall. She met Erica, who was clutching onto the rocks for dear life.
"Erica," Willow said gently. The girl pried her eyes open but didn't relax. "Can you let go of one of the rocks and take my hand? Then we'll go down together."
After a second, Erica shakily let go of the wall with one hand and grabbed onto Willow. No one said anything as the two girls slowly dropped to the ground. Once Erica had feet on the mat, Coach sighed in relief.
"See, you're fine. You're on the ground. You're all right," Coach said, rubbing Erica's shoulder. "Let's go. Shake it off. You're fine."
Erica quickly pushed through the crowd of students, many of which had begun laughing at her little freak-out. Coach Finstock did nothing to silence them and instead instructed the next pair to climb the wall.
Willow quickly chased after Erica, following her into the locker room. "Erica? Are you alright?"
"You can go back out there, Willow," Erica said, wiping under her eyes as she sat on a bench.
"Do you want me to take you to the nurse?" she offered, sitting next to Erica. She wasn't going to leave her alone after that. "You know a seizure can follow after having an anxiety attack like that—"
"I'm fine, Willow. Really," Erica insisted. "If - if it makes you feel better, I'll drop by the nurse and let her know."
"Thank you. Do you want me to come with you?"
"I'm not a baby," she mumbled. "I can take care of myself."
"I don't think you're a baby," she assured her. "If anyone's a baby, it's me. I've got a juice box in my locker."
"Really?" Erica asked, managing to laugh. "What flavor?"
"Apple. Obviously," she said, grinning. "You can have a sip of it at lunch today."
"Thanks," she said, smiling softly. "And thanks for that acne gel you gave me. It's really helping."
"Isn't it amazing? If I get a new breakout, it's gone in like two days. Jackson even uses it," she told her, both of them giggling. "You never heard that from me, though."
After a few more minutes of talking and calming Erica down, the other girls flooded into the locker room as the class came to an end. As soon as she heard approaching voices, Erica grew uneasy.
"I, uh, think I'll head to the nurse now," Erica said, not wanting to look anyone else in the eye and be made fun of.
"Are you sure you don't want me to come with?" Willow offered one last time.
"I'm sure. Thanks, though."
After Erica left, Willow started to change back out of her gym clothes. Lydia and Allison soon joined her.
"So, has he claimed any new territory?" Lydia asked, nosily searching Willow's exposed skin as she pulled off her gym shirt.
Willow rolled her eyes playfully while putting on and buttoning up a white collared shirt. "No, Derek has not claimed new territory," she said, shaking her head. Then she pulled on a green corduroy jumper dress. "You know, I never insisted on weekly body checks when you and Jackson started dating. Or you and Scott, Allison."
"But you're so cute when you get all blushy," Allison teased, pinching one of Willow's cheeks.
"I shan't put up with this," Willow declared dramatically. She grabbed her socks and shoes, prepared to finish getting dressed in the hallway. Lydia and Allison snickered as they followed her out.
"Here. You forgot your headband," Lydia said, holding out the green fabric that matched her dress.
"Thank—"
Willow cut herself off as Scott suddenly ran from the boys' locker room. He was using his werewolf speed, not even caring if someone saw — meaning there was something bad happening. Wanting to know what was happening, everyone else followed as Scott ran back into the gym.
The boy arrived just in time to catch the boy that was falling toward the ground, no safety mat near.
It was Erica.
Instead of going to the nurse like she told Willow she was, she had returned to the rock wall, determined to climb it on her own. Only halfway to the top, she started to have a seizure, just as Willow feared she would.
Scott caught Erica in his arms, who was shaking violently and unresponsive.
"Put her on her side," Willow instructed, having been around for one of Erica's seizures before. Scott did as instructed, and Willow put her hand in Erica's to give her something to hold onto instead of trying to restrain her movements. "Stiles, get your phone and start a timer. The paramedics need to know how long it lasts."
"Coach is calling an ambulance," Lydia told her.
Allison and Willow both looked at Scott. He had been on the way to the gym before they even knew Erica was having the seizure. "How'd you know?" Allison asked him.
But Scott wasn't really sure how he knew. He was just glad that he did and he got there in time. "I just felt it."
☽︎
After the incident in the gym, Erica was sent to the hospital and classes resumed. Willow made sure to call Melissa and arrange for some flowers to be sent to Erica at the hospital, knowing that daisies would cheer her up a little. Then she went about her day as usual.
When the lunch period rolled around, Willow spotted Stiles sitting across from Vernon Boyd instead of at his usual seat with Scott, meaning he was getting the keys to the ice skating rink from him. They had all made plans to sneak in that night to have some fun, and Boyd worked there and could get them access.
"This isn't a favor," Willow heard Boyd say as she wandered over. "It's a transaction."
"Right, yeah. Absolutely," Stiles muttered. He begrudgingly pulled out his wallet and slid a twenty-dollar bill across the table.
Boyd looked at it unimpressed. "I said fifty."
"Really, I - I remember twenty," Stiles said, grimacing. "I don't know. I have a really good verbal memory. And I remember twenty. I remember that distinct 'twa' sound twa-enty."
"I said fifty. With the 'fuh' sound. Hear the difference?" he asked.
"Uh—"
"If you can't, I can demonstrate some other words with the 'fuh' sound," Boyd said, making Willow giggle.
"Uh, no, n - no. I think I'm recalling it now," Stiles stuttered out. Then he pulled out another twenty to put on the table. "Maybe I just got it confused with forty?"
"Stiles," Willow said, crossing her arms.
"Come on, man, have you seen the piece of crap jeep that I drive?" Stiles whined.
"You seen the piece of crap bus that I take?" Boyd countered.
"Oh, for goodness sake," Willow said before digging her wallet out of her bag. She pulled a crisp fifty-dollar bill out of her glittery pink wallet and handed it to Boyd.
"Thanks for covering me," Stiles said, reaching for his own money.
Willow quickly snatched his hand, shaking her head. "Vernon gets that too as a tip."
"Ninety dollars?" Stiles questioned in disbelief. "That's highway robbery!"
"Ignore him," Willow told Boyd, sliding the rest of the money to him. Boyd flashed an adorably mischievous grin before dropping the keys in Stiles' hand.
"Thanks, Willow," he told her.
Stiles grumbled unhappily as he and Willow went to their lunch table where Scott was waiting.
"Got 'em," Stiles said, dropping the keys on the table. "For way more than they're worth. Pick you up right after work tonight and we'll meet at the rink, cool? Wills, you still coming solo?"
"I'm not sure. I thought about asking Jackson, but he totally blew up on Lydia earlier, so I don't think they should be around each other," she said, frowning. Jackson had been very tense and on edge lately, and she had no idea why. But she did know Lydia didn't deserve how he was treating her.
While deciding on if she'd go with them to the ice skating rink, she pulled everything out of her lunchbox. Scott spotted the chocolate chip cookies that Warren had baked and quickly snatched one without asking.
"Make sure you leave one for me," she told him, fixing her drink.
The conversation in the cafeteria slowly began to die out, and all three of them turned to see what had caused such a commotion. A tall blonde in heels, short skirt, and leather jacket strutted into the room, a confident smirk on her red lips.
"What - the holy hell - is that?" Lydia asked, not taking her eyes off the girl.
"It's Erica," Scott muttered in disbelief.
Willow thought she was dreaming as she looked at Erica, the straw of her drink frozen at her mouth. Her curls were sleek, not a strand out of place. Acne that had been on her chin that very morning was gone. And where had the girl who only ever wore sweatpants gotten the confidence to wear a tight, leather skirt like that? Where had she even found the skirt? Why wasn't she in the hospital?
Everyone watched with their breath held as Erica walked right up to Willow's table. A freshly manicured hand plucked the juice box from Willow's grasp, and Erica used her other thumb to wipe a drop of juice off of Willow's bottom lip. She smirked confidently before sucking on the straw, never looking at the boys that were practically drooling over her.
Then she was gone, turning on her heel to strut from the cafeteria, leaving behind a lipstick-stained juice box on the table.
"What?" was all Willow could ask, looking at Scott and Stiles with a confused expression. How could someone change physically so much so quickly?
"Derek," Scott muttered, his face darkening. He shot off like a rocket to chase after her, and Stiles grabbed Willow's hand to drag her along.
They ran down the hall and out of the school, following Erica. As they reached the steps of the building, they spotted Erica getting into a very familiar Camaro. The blonde smirked and waved her fingers at them before climbing into the front seat.
With sunglasses perched on his nose, hiding away the smug look in his eyes, Derek rolled down his window to look at them. But he didn't say a damn word as his car sped out of the parking lot, the rev of the engine covering up the hurt sound that left Willow's lips.
"I can't believe he bit Erica," Scott said, running his hand through his hair in frustration.
"He - he told me that he was going to give me a heads up if he was going to bite someone we know," Willow said, frowning.
Had that been a lie? And why didn't he say anything to her before leaving the parking lot? Why hadn't he even looked at her?
"Why wouldn't he tell me?"
☽︎
After some thinking, Willow opted to not go with Scott, Stiles, Allison, and Lydia to the ice skating rink. In part, she didn't want to end up stealing Lydia away from Stiles. Now that she wasn't with Jackson anymore, maybe the boy would stand a chance. Besides, Willow had plenty of homework to get caught up on, though she did at least help Allison and Lydia get ready in Allison's room.
"Make sure you wear those wool-lined tights," Willow instructed. "I don't want you getting cold."
"Yes, mother," Allison said, giggling.
"And Scott's never been ice skating, so don't let Lydia skate circles around him until she makes him cry," Willow said, giving a pointed look to Lydia, who she knew liked to show off.
"No promises," Lydia quipped, touching up her lipgloss.
Chris then entered the room, knocking on the wall softly as he smiled at them. "Headed out?"
"Studying," Allison lied. Her parents certainly wouldn't approve of sneaking into the skating rink after hours. After Chris gave her a pointed look, Allison walked over to him. "Just studying, Dad."
"I get it," Chris said, wrapping an arm around her. "But we need you to remember what happened."
"You want me to stop being friends with her?" she asked, hating the idea.
"Actually, we want the opposite. I know how this might sound, but we need you to keep an eye on her," he admitted.
Allison scoffed in disbelief. "You want me to spy on her?"
"We want you to look out for your friend to make sure everything's okay with her," he clarified.
They both looked back in the room at Lydia, who was pulling Willow into frame of her phone for a selfie. Then she kissed the picture of them on the screen. As usual, Lydia screamed 'self-absorbed teenage girl' more than 'blood-thirsty monster.'
"Seems okay to me," Allison commented with an amused smile.
After her father's intrusion, Allison was ready to leave as soon as possible. God forbid Gerard decide to stop by. So, the girls started to pack up their things. Allison helped Lydia bring her makeup and clothes she ended up not choosing for the night down to her car.
"What are you studying tonight?" Victoria asked as Willow brought their dirty snack plates into the kitchen to wash quickly.
"Mostly algebra and French," Willow said. Technically, she would be studying those things. Allison and Lydia wouldn't. "Both classes have a test on Friday."
"Well, good luck, though I'm sure you won't need it," Victoria said, smiling. "And is it just you girls studying? No boys?"
Willow, of course, knew that Allison's parents were still suspicious of Scott. How could they not be when Allison and Scott weren't exactly good at hiding their relationship?
"No ma'am," she said, shaking her head as she placed the washed dishes in the drying rack. "Well, you know about Scott, and Lydia is still getting over Jackson, so I think it'll only be girls' nights for the time being."
"I see. Then have a nice night," she told her. Then Victoria glanced at the door to make sure Lydia wasn't near. "Before you go, give me a punch."
Willow's shoulders sagged as Victoria put her palms out. While Allison's mother wasn't very involved in the training process that Willow was being put through, she still wanted to check in on her progress. So, Willow sat her car keys on the counter before forming a fist and punching Victoria's hand as hard as she could.
Of course, Victoria's hand didn't even budge, and it probably hurt Willow more than it hurt her.
"Still weak," Victoria commented, an unimpressed look on her face. "But your form has improved. It'll be months before you're able to build up the muscles required for the hit to hold any power."
Willow didn't want to keep doing it for months. She didn't want to build up muscles. She didn't want to even be capable of hurting someone. She just wished Allison's parents could realize there was nothing wrong with being gentle and delicate and soft.
See that there was nothing wrong with Willow being Willow.
By the time Willow arrived home for the night, she received a text from Allison letting her know they had all made it to the ice rink safely. After having a quick dinner with her father, she settled onto the couch to study while he read through a book. She didn't go to her room, figuring that Derek was much too busy with his new beta to stop by.
And to an extent, she was right. The window had remained closed the whole time she got ready for bed. He didn't stop by to ask her about her day or tell her about his.
But after hours of exhaustive studying, Willow laid under the covers, hardly able to keep her eyes open. And just as she drifted off to sleep, she was aware of the warm, familiar arms that held her when he finally came in for the night. She relaxed into his warm touch, burrowing her head in his chest as she drifted off.
Even with tensions rising on all sides and an urgent and controlling need to grow his pack, Derek would always sleep better with Willow in his arms.
☽︎
The following day at school, all anyone wanted to talk about was Erica and her dramatic transformation. She had shown up to first period in just as scandalous of an outfit, and Willow wondered how she hadn't been dress-coded with how low-cut the tank top she was wearing was.
Erica stood at her locker, running a hand through her perfect curls, and smiled to herself when she felt another presence behind her. Another werewolf.
"Two's not enough for Derek. I know he needs at least three, so who's next?" Scott asked, not wasting any time. The hallway was nearly empty, so it was the best time to corner her.
"Why does there have to be a next when we've already got you?" she asked, grinning.
"Who's next?"
Instead of answering, she tilted her head and studied him. "You know, I never knew what I looked like during a seizure until someone took a video of me once and put it online?"
"I don't care," he muttered.
"It happened during class. I started seizing in my desk, and everyone was saying how they should put something in my mouth until Willow, the only person with a brain, told him not to because it could break my teeth."
"Erica—"
"Do you know what happens next?" she asked, taking a threatening step forward. "I piss myself. And they start laughing, and she tries to stop them but they won't. Even Willow Worthington only has so much control over these halls. You know, the only good thing about seizures was that I never remembered them. Until some brilliant jerkoff had to go and put cameras in everybody's phone. Look at me now, Scott."
Erica had pushed him up against the lockers, and to any onlookers, it'd look more intimate than threatening. But even then, Scott wasn't looking at her. He was looking at Allison down the hall who was watching the whole thing.
"That's right. You only have eyes for her," Erica said bitterly.
Scott angrily grabbed Erica's wrists, the bones ready to break from the force. She gasped in pain but was pleased to have gotten a reaction out of him.
"Scott, let her go," Willow said, having come around the corner and saw him grab her tightly.
He did as instructed, ignoring the smirk on Erica's lips as he looked at Willow. "She was—"
"It doesn't matter what she says," Willow said, crossing her arms. "I know you want to find out who Derek is going to bite next, but that doesn't give you an excuse to hurt her."
"Is this how it's gonna be now? You always taking Derek's side?" Scott asked, shaking his head.
"I'm not taking his side, Scott," she argued. Erica seemed amused by it. "But he's not being violent. He's not the one digging his claws into Erica in the middle of the hallway. So, will you please go calm down?"
"I'm not leaving you alone with Erica," Scott said, glaring at the newly-turned wolf.
"Oh, please. Like I would hurt precious little Willow," Erica said, rolling her eyes playfully. Then she put her arm over Willow's shoulder. "Run along, Scott."
Scott did run along, but not very far. His ears would be trained on them, not trusting Erica, or any of Derek's pack, around Willow.
"You know, just cause you aren't in each other's packs doesn't mean you have to be so, well, mean to each other," Willow said, sighing. "You are alright though, right? Your bite healed and everything? No black blood coming out of your ears?"
Maybe she was still shaken up from what Jackson had gone through.
"Can't you see, Willow? I'm perfect," Erica said, grinning as she flipped her hair over her shoulder. Then she studied Willow carefully. "I'm kind of surprised you're not treating me like the devil, actually."
Willow shrugged. "I know Scott thinks getting the bite is bad — and to an extent, I agree. But at the same time, I can't imagine what life was like for you and for Isaac. If his dad hadn't of been killed, he'd at least be able to protect himself and heal now. And I'm assuming you won't be having any more seizures," Willow guessed. "It was your choice. I just hope you all stay safe. Make sure to protect yourself."
"Don't worry about me," Erica told her. Secretly, she was touched that Willow still cared and wasn't treating her differently. "Or you could just watch over me yourself."
She raised an eyebrow, not understanding what Erica meant. "I'm not exactly the toughest person to have around in a fight, Erica. You'll have better luck with Isaac and Derek."
"I meant what if you got the bite too?" she asked, stepping forward slightly. On instinct, Willow backed into the locker.
"Did Derek ask you to pitch this to me?" Willow asked, frowning uncertainly. She'd never want to be a wolf, and more importantly, Derek knew that too.
"No, but wouldn't it be so amazing?" she asked. "Derek wants more betas, and he already sort of knows you, so it'd be perfect."
Clearly, Erica didn't know how well Derek knew Willow. Though, she supposed he wasn't going to give them a rundown of his social and love life in the middle of building the pack.
"Just think about how hot and strong you'll be," Erica continued, placing a hand next to Willow's head by the locker. "I mean, you're already hot, but still. Think we could get a rise out of Derek during training? Us, all sweaty, in tight little shorts. I'm sure he'd just have to join in."
Willow's cheeks were suddenly on fire as the conversation took a turn. "Y - Derek and — why - why would you want Derek to, um—"
"Oh, come on," Erica said, chuckling. "Don't act like you don't see how smokin' he is. I give it until my first full moon before he's mine — though I don't mind sharing." She added a suggestive wink before pushing off the lockers. "Just something for you to think about."
Willow was too stunned to even inform Erica that she and Derek were already in a relationship. By the time she collected herself, the werewolf was gone, likely off to torment a few teenage boys with her new look.
Maybe Erica as a werewolf was going to be more menacing than Willow originally thought.
☽︎
Willow sat next to Allison at lunch. Neither talked much, too concerned with Erica and the trouble she was beginning to cause. She was continuing to get too close to Scott for comfort, and now it seemed Willow might need to worry about the exact same thing.
Soon, Scott took a seat at the table next to theirs, the back of his seat facing the back of Allison's. They couldn't sit together with Gerard roaming the halls.
"I know how it looked, but she came up to me," Scott said immediately, referring to how close he and Erica had been in the hallway.
"I'm not jealous," Allison stated. But Willow knew from how tight her jaw was clenched that she was.
"You're not?" Scott asked warily.
"She's with Derek now, isn't she? Like Isaac. You can't get caught in the middle of this. Neither of you," Allison said, looking to Willow. "Don't you feel what's happening? My grandfather coming here, my parents trying to radicalize Willow, Derek turning Erica and Isaac. It's - it's like battle lines are being drawn."
"I know," he said helplessly.
"There's always crossfire," Allison muttered.
"What am I supposed to do? I can't just stand by. I can't pretend to be normal," he argued.
"I don't want you to be normal. I want you to be alive," Allison said before getting up to leave.
Willow sighed heavily before grabbing her lunch tray and joining Scott at the other table. He was clearly upset with how this all was affecting his relationship with Allison. Something told them that things would only continue to get more complicated.
"Everything is gonna be alright," Willow told him, leaning her head on his shoulder.
"Do you really believe that?" he asked doubtfully. Willow could only shrug halfheartedly. "Also, I think Erica has a crush on you. Is there any way we can use that to our advantage?"
"Erica does not have a crush on me," Willow said, rolling her eyes. "Besides, your nosy little werewolf ears heard her go on about Derek."
Scott shook his head as he laughed. "She mentioned you being hot and sweaty long before Derek came into play. We'll keep the you seducing her plan in our back pocket."
"Back pock — Scott!" Willow whined, hitting his arm as he laughed again. "You're starting to sound like Stiles and his ridiculous plans."
Speaking of Stiles—
"Scott," the boy shouted, clambering over to their table in a rush. "Do you see that?"
Stiles pointed to an empty lunch table across the room. Neither Scott nor Willow saw what the big deal was.
"What, it's an empty table," Scott said, shrugging.
"Yeah, but whose empty table?" Stiles asked.
"Vernon," Willow stated, picking at the orange slices on her tray. But then Stiles waved his hands dramatically, making her and Scott realize what he was insinuating.
Derek was going to bite Boyd.
"I'm going to go to the ice rink, see if he's there," Scott said. They immediately got up, prepared to find the boy before he could be bitten. "Willow can come with me. And if he's not at home, you call me, got it?"
Willow was on board with the plan, but Stiles seemed to be hesitating, and Scott noticed. "What?" he asked.
"Maybe we should let him. Boyd, you know, man? You said Derek's giving them a choice, right?" Stiles asked.
"We can't."
"You gotta admit, Erica looks pretty good," Stiles muttered. "You know, the word "sensational" comes to mind."
"Yeah. How good do you think she's gonna look with a wolfsbane bullet in her head?" Scott asked, raising an eyebrow.
"All right, all I'm saying is maybe this one isn't totally your responsibility."
"They all are. And you know this thing's gonna get out of control. That makes me responsible," Scott declared.
"All right, I'm with you," Stiles gave in. "And I also gotta say this newfound heroism is making me very attracted to you."
"Shut up," Scott said, rolling his eyes as Willow giggled.
"No, seriously. Do you wanna just try making out for a sec?" he asked as Scott started to walk away, dragging Willow along. "Just to see how it feels."
"I'm sure Danny's available," Willow called over her shoulder. Then she looked at Scott, who was still leading her out of the school. "Why do I have to come, by the way? I really don't need to skip the rest of my classes for the day."
"One, I need a ride," he said, smiling sheepishly. Scott was indeed heading toward Willow's car in the parking lot. "Two, if Derek is already there, maybe you can talk him out of it."
"Derek doesn't do things just because I ask," she stated. "Also I asked him to tell me if he was going to bite anyone else, and I heard not one word out of him."
"You can't like, bat your eyelashes or roll your skirt up?" he asked, scrambling for ideas.
She gasped and swatted his arm. "I don't know why you're so obsessed with pimping me out as of late, but I don't care for it one bit, Scott McCall. And I will call your mother if you try it again."
"I'm not trying to pimp you out," he insisted. "But, you know, you can't pretend like boys don't tend to do whatever you ask whenever you touch their arm and kiss their cheeks and ask about their days."
"It's called being polite," she said, pouting. "Some boys are just nice."
"As someone who was one of those boys before Allison came along—" Scott paused to look her up and down. "—that's not the reason."
Willow let out an appalled scoff and stomped toward her car. "I'm telling Allison and Melissa!"
☽︎
Personally, Willow would have preferred if Scott had turned the lights on before they walked around the ice rink after arriving. But they walked through the dimly lit building calling for Boyd, who they eventually found. He was sitting on top of the Zamboni out in the middle of the ice.
"Boyd," Scott called. "I just wanna talk. Hey, come on, Boyd, please."
When Boyd didn't acknowledge them or even look their way, Scott walked out on the ice. Willow held onto his sleeve as she followed, not wanting to slip since they weren't wearing skates.
"Did Derek tell you everything?" Scott asked. "And I don't just mean going out of control on the full moons. I mean everything."
"He told me about the hunters," Boyd said, finally turning off the machine and looking down at them.
"And that's not enough for you to say no?" Scott asked in disbelief.
"Scott knows first hand that it's no fun getting shot," Willow piped up.
Scott nodded in agreement. "Whatever you want, there's other ways to get it."
"I just wanna not eat lunch alone every day," Boyd muttered. Willow's heart broke for him and wondered if she should have made more of an effort to befriend him. She could be kind to everyone but she couldn't stretch herself thin enough to be there all the time for everyone she met.
"If you're looking for friends, you can do a lot better than Derek," Scott said, scoffing.
"That really hurts, Scott." Willow and Scott turned to see Derek, along with Erica and Isaac. They were too late. "I mean if you're going to review me, at least take a consensus. Erica, how's life been for you since we met?"
Erica smirked at them. "In a word — transformative." Then she flashed her fangs and roared loudly.
Derek raised an eyebrow. "Isaac?"
"Well, I'm a little bummed about being a fugitive, but other than that, I'm great," he replied, shrugging.
"Okay, hold on," Scott said, looking between the three werewolves in front of him. "This isn't exactly a fair fight."
Willow hated the twisted smirk on Derek's face. "Then go home, Scott," he told him. Then Derek nodded to the two betas, who stepped forward threateningly.
In a flash, Scott had pushed Willow back, who clutched onto the side of the Zamboni to stay upright. Then Scott slammed his claws into the ice, cracking it as he roared threateningly.
"I meant fair for them," he said, gold eyes shining.
"You don't have to fight!" Willow exclaimed, but it was useless.
Erica and Isaac attacked Scott with all their might. But two not-even-a-month-old werewolves were nothing against Scott, who was faster and stronger and better trained. Willow winced as he soon knocked both Erica and Isaac to the ground.
"Don't you get it?" Scott asked them. "He's not doing this for you. He's just adding to his own power, okay? It's all about him. He makes you feel like he's giving you some kind of gift when all he's done is turn you into a bunch of guard dogs!"
Scott effortlessly slid Isaac and Erica across the ice and to Derek's feet. He didn't look too torn up about his betas being beaten. Instead, he simply smirked at Scott.
"It's true," he shamelessly admitted. "It is about power."
Horrified chills ran down Willow's spine as Derek started moving toward Scott. First, his claws came out and then the red eyes followed. The alpha let out a deafening roar that shook the ice as he rushed at Scott. The two betas may not have stood a chance against Scott, but he didn't stand a chance against Derek. The sound of bones breaking and flesh ripping filled the air, Derek giving Scott no mercy as he attacked.
"Stop!" Willow screamed helplessly, tears in her eyes.
But of course, he didn't stop. Not even when Scott was down for the count, coughing up blood on the ice. Scott was already beaten and yet Derek kept going. He stomped hard on Scott's chest, cutting off his air.
Willow screamed again and scrambled across the ice. Her knees gave out, sliding toward Scott.
"No, no, no. Stop it, Derek! Stop," she pleaded, trying to pry his foot off of Scott's chest so that he could breathe. As Derek snapped his head to look at her, Willow flinched, terrified by the look in those red eyes.
Her hands were shaking. Tears were streaming down her cheeks. She was scared. Of Derek.
"S - stop," she whispered, her voice trembling and eyes wide. "Please."
Derek didn't say a damn word as he brought his foot off of Scott's chest. The only sound was the sharp, painful gasp of breath that Scott took in. Willow sighed in relief and pressed her forehead to his as he grabbed her hand, squeezing it to help with the pain.
"Don't," Scott managed to say as Boyd got off the Zamboni, moving to follow the others. "You don't wanna be like them."
"You're right," Boyd admitted. But then he pulled up his shirt, revealing the bite on his side. "I wanna be like you."
Derek left Scott and Willow there, one in more pain than he'd ever been in and the other whose heart wasn't in much better condition.
☽︎
Scott didn't let Willow come with him to the animal clinic. He swore his wounds from Derek would start healing soon so he sent her home. Willow was glad that her father wasn't home because she wouldn't want to explain why she was crying or why Scott's blood was staining the sleeves of her pink sweater.
Really, she wanted to forget the whole day had even happened. And she was well on her way to that as she moved around her room and got ready for bed. It was after refilling Scribbles' food bowl in the kitchen that her night was interrupted.
Derek was standing in her room by the desk when she came back up. Willow froze by the door, not quite sure what to do, so she wrapped her arms around herself in a hug.
"Your window was locked," was all he said. "I, uh, came in through the guest room next door."
"Did you think maybe it was locked for a reason?" Willow asked. She couldn't stop her eyes from watering again. "Do you even feel bad about what you did?"
"Scott challenged me in front of my pack—"
"Get out," she interrupted. Derek looked at her, shocked, but she didn't see it because she couldn't look at him. If she looked at him, her resolve would crumble and the big speech she'd given herself about not forgiving him would be forgotten.
"Get out?" he repeated. "Come on, I was just—"
"I want you to leave, Derek," she said firmly. "You almost killed Scott. And you don't even feel bad about it. You're turning into exactly what you promised you wouldn't — a power-hungry, scary, alpha. Just like Peter."
"I don't scare you," Derek said, shaking his head.
"Maybe you do," she whispered.
"Willow," he said softly, and she shook her head, still refusing to look at him.
"I'll still bring Isaac his homework, and you don't have to worry about me telling any Argents where your hideout is," she said quickly, wanting to get it over with. "But you need to leave."
Derek stepped forward and gently touched her wrist. Willow clenched her eyes shut before pulling out of his grip. "Willow," he whispered pleadingly, brushing his thumb across her cheek. "Don't do this."
"Please get out," she said, her voice cracking as one of the tears finally fell. "Please."
Derek clenched his fist and stepped toward the window, not tearing his eyes off of Willow's figure by the door. "I'm not giving up on you, Willow."
"If you're gonna keep acting like you did today... you should," Willow told him, doing her best to ignore how much it hurt her heart to say it "And for future reference, if the window's locked, don't come in."
It would be far too long before she unlocked it again, but that wouldn't stop him from checking every night.