Disclaimer: I don't own Teen Wolf
When the chemistry lesson let out, the teens were put into an almost paralytic case of shock. Lydia had failed the kanima test, but Ellie refused to believe that her best friend was capable of doing anything even vaguely monstrous. Killing people just didn't fit who Lydia was – she may have been a little shallow at times, and mean to those she deemed 'unworthy', but she wasn't evil. There was nothing cold blooded about her.
Ellie stuck to her best friend's side for the next few lessons, which was probably clever considering how little tact Derek's betas had. It was unlikely they'd try anything at school, but she didn't trust them as far as she could throw them and her upper body strength was severely lacking.
After the classes they shared had finished and her free period came along, it got much more complicated. Lydia had a session in with Miss Morrell ("Totally routine," she'd explained. "It's just because of the 'running naked in the woods debacle'.") and then study hall in the library with Stiles, so she would only be by herself for one hour– safe from Isaac and Erica, but also away from the group set on protecting her.
For the last few minutes of the free time slot she had(after about 45 spent in search of Allison, Stiles and Scott), they met in Coach Finstock's office. He'd been out all day (something about Greenburg's cupcakes giving him food poisoning), so there wasn't a risk of someone walking in on them plotting ways to save a girl's life.
"Derek's outside waiting for Lydia," Scott said urgently as soon as the door was closed. Ellie and Allison shared a worried look, Stiles staring ahead with a dark expression.
Stiles scoffed. "You mean waiting to kill her?"
"If he thinks that she's the kanima," the werewolf conceded. "Especially after what happened at the pool – he's not just out to protect people, he wants revenge."
"It's not her, Scott," Ellie denied. "It can't be her. She's not a monster, okay?"
"She didn't pass the test," Scott said, sounding as if that meant there was no room for argument. "Nothing happened."
"That doesn't matter! Just because Lydia's something doesn't mean she's the bad guy!" the small brunette argued.
"It can't be her," Stiles agreed.
"It doesn't matter, anyway," Allison interrupted (though Ellie suspected she had a few choice words to share about what Scott thought of her best friend), "Because Derek thinks it's her. So, either we convince him that he's wrong or we've got to figure out a way to protect her."
"I really don't think he'll do anything during school," Scott said, furrowing his brow. "Surely that gives us some extra time?"
"What about after school?" Ellie demanded. "There's, what, an hour before everyone leaves?"
"What if we prove that Derek's wrong?" Allison suggested.
Stiles shook his head. "Before the end of the school day? It's impossible."
"There has to be something in the bestiary!" she cried.
"Oh, you mean the 900 page book written in archaic Latin that none of us can read?" Ellie replied drolly, narrowing her eyes. There was nothing they could do with the resources they had, and time to plan was running out.
"Actually," her cousin said slowly, "I think I know someone who can translate it."
"Uh, I can talk to Derek. Maybe convince him to give us a chance to prove it's not her," Scott sighed. There was a hesitance on his face, obviously bred from the fact that he really didn't see any other reason for the venom not to work on Lydia. "But if anything happens, you guys let me handle it."
Allison glared. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"None of you can heal like I do," he said derisively. Ellie rolled her eyes. "I just don't want you getting hurt!"
Feeling thoroughly offended at her boyfriend's lack of faith in her ability, Ellie turned briskly to Allison's unnecessarily large purse and rummaged through. She wasn't stupid – she knew that her cousin had been taking an assortment of weapons to school since learning about werewolves. There were plenty of things they could both use to defend themselves.
Finally, she pulled out two small crossbows and threw one to Allison, who caught it easily. "We can protect ourselves, Scott." Scott's face fell. "What?" she asked, worry returning to her voice "Did something happen?"
"I just don't want you to get hurt, okay?" He admitted softly, "I love you, and if anything happened to you I would – I would go out of my mind, Ellie. If anything happens, call me." His eyes flickered to where Stiles stood awkwardly with an armed Allison. "The same goes for you both, too."
"We have until three, you guys." Allison announced, "So maybe standing around here isn't a good way to spend our time. Especially because" – the bell rang – "she's just getting out of her session with Morrell and is about to be wholly unsupervised."
"Okay," He nodded, "Okay. Go to the translate person, but meet us outside of school before three. Stiles, Ellie... you two make sure Lydia stays safe. Say we're studying; that seems plausible enough for her not to question us dragging her to my house after school."
"Of course," said Ellie, giving him what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "We'll keep everything water-tight on our end. Now, go reason with the alpha-bitch."
Scott turned to the door, leaving before the rest of them to run out to Derek before he apparated away, but soon spun around, hand darting up to catch an arrow before it planted in the back of his head. Stiles, holding a crossbow and looking embarrassed, gave him an apologetic grimace. "Sorry," he said, handing the weapon back to Allison. "Sorry, there's a sensitive trigger on that."
;
Finding Lydia before Isaac and Erica wasn't nearly as hard as Ellie thought it would be. Stiles had led her dutifully out of the library and down the service stairs that hadn't been used in a few decades, Ellie meeting him by the doors with her crossbow within reach in case they needed it.
Derek had never been reliable, according to Scott, so their precautions were a complete necessity. The idea of them leaving Lydia's safety, Lydia's life, in the hands of a volatile werewolf who hated most of them wasn't appealing, or clever.
Of course, the strawberry blonde had no idea why they were being so pushy with her, so Stiles' impatient grasp on her arm was met with resistance and anger. "If we're doing a study group," she sniffed, "Why don't we just stay in the library?"
"Because we're meeting up with somebody else," Stiles told her, hand moving to res on her back to make sure she stayed moving.
There was a tap on Ellie's shoulder, and when she turned to see who it was she was met with Jackson's face (with an expression like a chewed-up flip-flop). Sighing, she nodded, knowing they would need as much help as possible, and, as much as it annoyed her to admit, Jackson did care about Lydia, and Lydia cared about Jackson. And his opinion, so if he was up for an impromptu study-session at Scott's house than she was more likely to be compliant.
"Why don't they just meet us in the library?" Lydia asked, curling her lip at the boy next to her.
"Oh, that would've been a great idea!" He said enthusiastically, moving his grip to her shoulders to manoeuvre her down the hall. "Too late!"
Lydia seemed to have grown tired of their sketchy attempts to get her to come with them, and stopped walking. "Hold on!"
Jackson scowled, wrapping an arm around her to yank her along with them, patience disappearing faster than on-sale shoes at Macy's. "Lydia, just shut up and walk!" He ordered.
They managed to speed out of the school car park in the jeep (Lydia and Ellie squished uncomfortably in the small back seat and Jackson upfront with Stiles, who seemed less than happy about sharing another car journey with the boy) before being intercepted by Isaac, Erica, Boyd or Derek, Lydia staring confusedly out of the back window and missing the glares of some very angry-looking werewolves.
;
"If we're studying at Scott's house, then where's Scott?" Lydia scowled, allowing Stiles to direct her up the stairs to Scott's porch. Ellie was too busy glancing down at her phone to pay attention, seeing as they'd missed Allison before the girl could find them after seeing the translator she'd thought of.
Received Allison / 03:11pm Mar
Got caught up at school – probably won't be there for another few hours. Somehtign about a makeup test with Harris...?
Groaning (and almost falling down the stairs), Ellie replied:
Sent / 03:13pm Mar
Okay, just be here as fast as possible. Stiles, Jackson and I will hold the fort until you get here.
"Scott's meeting us here," Stiles answered with false brightness that made Ellie cringe. "I think. I hope."
"Why are you doing this?" Ellie asked Jackson quietly. "The last time you talked to Lydia, you were telling her that you didn't want anything to do with her."
"I don't want her to die," he shot back. "Besides, I need to talk to her anyway."
When they got inside the McCall house (Stile knew where Mrs McCall hid the spare key), Stiles made a point of clicking shut every lock on the door – all ten of them – and pull the chain across. Ellie smacked her hand to her forehead, and Lydia raised her eyebrows in disbelief.
"Uh," Stiles floundered. "There's been a few break-ins around the neighbourhood." He caught sight of a chair sitting nearby and propped it against the doorknob. "And a murder."
Jackson looked to be about seven seconds away from slapping him in the face.
And, honestly, so was Ellie. So, taking control of the situation, she nodded her head to the lacrosse captain. Jackson quirked his jaw in understanding. "Lydia, come with me," he instructed. "I need to talk to you."
"Seriously?" the strawberry blonde demanded. "What the hell is going on with everyone today?"
Rounding on Stiles, Ellie hissed: "Really? 'Break-ins and a murder'? Are you freaking kidding me?" She whacked his head hard enough to make her palm sting.
Yelping, he jumped back from her, raising his hands in defence. "I'm sorry!" He squealed, "I was improvising!"
"And you couldn't 'improvise' something plausible?" She hit him again.
"Stop hitting me!" He stumbled back from her so fast he tripped over the leg of the chair he'd used as a barrier. "I didn't exactly see you coming up with any ideas!"
"Jesus, Stiles, we don't have time for this!" Ellie snapped, knowing that her mind had been just as blank as his but still very angry at his tactlessness. "The were-dicks will be here any minute!"
"Okay, okay," He stood quickly, dropping his hands to hr shoulders. "We just both need to calm down and think about this. Scott will be here before any real fighting breaks out."
"And if he isn't?" Ellie made a face, hunching forward, "There's only so much damage I can do with a crossbow, Stiles, and you don't have anything to defend yourself with."
Stiles screwed up his face in thought. "We will figure something out, okay? Call Scott, see where the hell he is, and get him to be her as soon as werewolfly possible."
"Yeah, yeah," she nodded slowly. "Yeah, I'll do that. Thanks." Ellie pulled out her phone, hating the way her hands were shaking, and called her boyfriend. He answered after a few rings, and said the standard 'hello' (though it was about three times tenser than his usual greeting). "Scott, you have to get here now," she said softly.
Stiles moved across the room to the window, swallowing thickly at what he saw. 'They're here', he mouthed.
"Right now," Ellie added seriously.
He must have heard the urgency in her voice, as he said immediately: "I'm on my way."
When the phone call ended, Ellie crept to the window next to Stiles, peeking outside. Derek stood next to the Camaro Scott had once told her was the alpha's car, with Boyd, Erica and Isaac queued behind him. They looked casual, but the hunter knew they were only biding their time until the right moment came along to attack.
Obviously, the group had no qualms with killing an innocent teenager – and Derek acted so morally superior to the hunters. He was no better than those who killed his family: a murderer who would kill anyone as long as it suited them. It was disgusting.
... And it also meant that more needed to be done. If a werewolf killed someone, they had to be put down. We protect those who cannot protect themselves.
Hands trembling, she pulled out her phone again. She had to do it, no matter how much she didn't want to. This was her best friend, this was Lydia, and she was in danger. The innocent, unknowing human in the room above her needed to be protected because she couldn't protect herself.
"H – What are you doing?" Stiles demanded, eyes squinting at the device in her hand.
Ellie swallowed thickly. "I think – I think I have to call my uncle."
"But if he finds you here, you and Scott..."
"I know." And she did. But in a choice between her best friend's life and her relationship, there was only one decision she could make – even if it cost the boy she loved. "What else can we do, Stiles? They're not here to scare us; they're here to kill Lydia."
"No! No, wait!" He slapped the phone out of her hands; it went skidding across the room. "I have an idea!"
"What?!"
"Shoot one of them!" He said, as if it were that simple.
Ellie scoffed. "Are you serious?"
"You told Scott we could protect ourselves, Ellie, so let's do it." He nodded to her crossbow, "At least try, alright?"
This was such a bad idea.
"Yeah, okay, fine, I'll try." She glanced out of the window.
He must have seen the doubt on her face, as he said urgently: "Look, they don't think we'll fight. If you hit one of them, I guarantee they'll take off, recuperate. So just... shoot one."
"... Which one?" Ellie whispered.
"Derek," Stiles replied without much deliberation. "Yeah, him. Preferably in the head."
Ellie snorted, "If Scott could catch an arrow then Derek definitely can."
"Then shoot one of the other three, then," he allowed, disappointed.
"You mean two." There was only two: Boyd and Erica. Wait, weren't there three there before?
"I mean three," he repeated. He dove to the window, pushing aside the curtain to look outside. "Where the hell's Isaac?!"
It was now or never. Ellie aimed her crossbow, breathing out as the familiar rush of power filled her. She could do this; she never missed. She had always been the perfect shot, she just needed to...
Just as she was about to release the arrow, something attacked her from behind, shoving her and leaving her sprawled on the floor. Dammit! Why hadn't either of them thought about there being a back door?! Leaving Stiles to deal with Isaac (which may not have been one of her best ideas, but she was panicking, okay?), Ellie hurried upstairs to Lydia.
Lydia was in the hall when Ellie found her, looking teary and confused. The brunette winced, shushing her friend before whispering: "Someone's trying to break in, okay? You have to – you have to hide. Let Stiles and I deal with this. Get Jackson and go."
Backing away, the strawberry blonde gave her a frightened look, but complied. Ellie realised she must've looked very dangerous standing there with her hunter mind-set engaged and weapon in her hand. Lydia locked herself in the bathroom, Jackson nowhere to be seen, and Ellie locked the door behind her. On the window was dripping, clear kanima venom that made her throat go dry. Mind racing, Ellie lathered the arrow on her crossbow with it. It paralysed werewolves too, right?
She'd managed to lock it into position and point the weapon at the door barely a second before Erica crashed through it.
The she-wolf smirked at her, claws out, eyes yellow. "This might make me sound like kind of a bitch, but I've always wondered what it feels like to steal someone's boyfriend. I bet it's a pretty sick rush of power. I think I might try it with Scott. You know what? I don't think it's going to be that hard, because why would he be waiting around to steal ten minutes with you when he can have me any time he wants?"
Ellie didn't think; she let the arrow go.
And, just as the hunter had thought, Erica caught it before it hit her. Werewolf reflexes were really amazing, but not very fortunate in this case. The blonde laughed maliciously. "You didn't really think that would work, did you?"
"Actually I did," Ellie smiled brightly, dropping her arm and watching realisation flash over Erica's face as she saw the liquid on her palm. The brunette waltzed toward her, feeling that same 'sick rush of power' the other girl had mentioned.
Erica collapsed, eyes following the movement of Ellie's feet as they walked past her.
"I thought you were psychic," Ellie sniffed. "Bitch."
;
Seeing Derek's smug expression drop at the sight of two of his betas being thrown at him, one paralysed, the other unconscious, after what he'd seen as an easy battle was completely worth all of the worry she'd been plagued with throughout the day.
Scott walked out of his house, followed closely by Ellie and Stiles.
"You know, I think I'm finally getting why you keep refusing me, Scott." Derek said slowly, "You're not an omega; you're already an alpha of your own pack." He smirked, "But you know you can't beat me."
"I can hold you off until the cops get here," Scott replied blankly as they heard the sounds of sirens approaching. The alpha gave him a look of complete anger, knowing that there was nothing more he could do.
Something hissed, and when they all looked up they saw the kanima crawling across Scott's roof. It was just as ugly and scaly as it had been the first time Ellie had seen it. The creature screeched, then sprinted away.
Derek closed his eyes, looking done with everything. "Get them," he jerked his chin at Isaac and Erica, "Out of here." He ordered Boyd. He moved to chase the kanima, but before he could Lydia stumbled out of the house.
"Will someone please tell me what the hell is going on?!" she demanded.
Ellie shared a look with Scott, horror clouding both of their faces. "It's Jackson," she spoke. "Jackson is the kanima."
a/n Hello! So, this update was on time (which was pretty amazing considering I'm not feeling so great). Only took me four and a half hours to write (sigh).
I hope you guys liked it. There wasn't a lot of Scellie, but there was loads of BROTP Stellie. It's quite worrying actually because, as much as I love Ellie and Scott, I'm kind of shipping Stiles and Ellie together ngl.
Thank you all for reading! See yas next time!
xx