"It's sad because it just hurts,
I'd do anything for you,
But would you do that for me, too?"
Bubblegum - Clairo
•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••
"Class starts in five minutes! Just because there's no power, don't expect there to be no school!" Coach shouts into his bullhorn, echoing through the dark hallways.
"That was a triple negative." Stiles winks at Coach as he passes by at his locker. "Very impressive, Coach." Stiles compliments.
"Copy that." Coach calls back in his bullhorn.
Stiles takes his books out of his locker, accidentally knocking his keys onto the ground with a clatter. "Oops!" He grabs the set, before noticing a key that he doesn't remember having. "Hello... Where did you come from?" He mutters to himself.
He turns around at the sound of the doors at the end of the hallway opening, turning around and checking to see if it was Isabel. As he spots Scott, he smiles to the wolf and raises his hand in a wave.
He notices Scott's eyes elsewhere and follows his gaze to see Kira turning around and walking off to her locker. Scott beelines for Kira, Stiles catching his arms as he tries to pass him and stops him.
"No. No, stop! Stop!" Stiles warns.
"What? I need to talk to her." Scott huffs.
"No, you need to remember someone left a coded message telling Barrow to kill her." Stiles reminds.
"Which is why I need to talk to her-"
"Scott, no way!" Stiles interrupts. "Until we figure out if she's just another psychotic monster that's going to start murdering everybody, I vote against any and all interaction!"
The pair watch as Kira glances over, shrugging her backpack over her shoulders before continuing down the hallway.
"What if she's like me?" Scott quietly wonders.
"That girl walked through one-point-twenty-one jigawatts of electricity - she's not like you." Stiles sighs, shutting his locker.
Scott silently walks off, Stiles looking down at his keys in wonder. At the sound of the door he turns again, this time a large grin finding it way onto his face.
"At least I know you're not a psychotic monster that's going to start murdering people." He mumbles to himself, watching the red-head in awe.
•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••
Isabel sits in Biology, eyes dead set on the small red chaos crystal that she holds in her hand. Her eyes narrow as she sighs in annoyance, having spent the entire night trying to do something with it.
Sat at the desk next to her is Lydia and Aiden. Natalie Martin passes worksheets out, stopping at Lydia's desk.
"Sweetheart, since this is my first class and I haven't taught in five years, I just want to remind you of one thing..." Lydia frowns in confusion at her mother. "Try not to embarrass me." Natalie smiles.
"You should have thought of that before wearing those shoes." Lydia sarcastically responds, Natalie's face dropping as she looks at her feet before laughing as she realises. "Love you!" Lydia grins.
"Love you, too." Natalie smiles, before turning around and freezing as she spots her niece sat staring at her hands.
Lydia notices and leans forward to see what her mother was looking at before sighing as she realises.
Natalie and Lydia watch as Isabel seemingly flinches before hissing 'Shut up, already' to herself. Natalie turns her head to look at her daughter, the two sharing a worried glance before their eyes return to Isabel.
Feeling eyes on her, Isabel raises her head and looks between the two. She puts a sheepish smile on her face before taking the sheet her Aunt holds in her hand.
Natalie gives a small smile before continuing down the class.
"Why's your mom teaching biology?" Aiden asks Lydia, pulling her eyes away from Isabel.
"Because Mr. Harris used to teach biology... until his new occupation... Human sacrifice." She answers, giving a pointed look at Aiden.
"What?" Aiden asks, offended. "I didn't kill him." Aiden retorts, Lydia raises her brows with a scoff. "Lydia, what?"
Lydia sighs and turns to Aiden, "Last night, I helped save someone's life. That felt really good. And I look at you, and all I can think is that you helped kill Boyd. You're not just a bad boy, Aiden - you're a bad guy." Aiden looks away at Lydia's words. "And I don't want to be with the bad guys." Lydia finishes, returning her attention to the Biology book in front of her.
Aiden clenches his jaw, before turning around to Danny who sat behind them. "...I think I know a place where you can have your party."
•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••
Stiles sits in his Jeep, wringing his hands as he waits for Scott and Kira. He looks at the message Isabel sent him when he texted - asking her to help and sighs.
'Lydia dragged me to some party, sorry.'
He spent the night worried that maybe Isabel regretted what they had done, maybe she regretted saying yes to him. Lydia told him she didn't return home last night, so where the hell did she go?
He shakes his head from his thoughts, putting the phone back in his pocket as he watches Scott pull up on his motorbike with Kira clinging onto his back. They pull off their helmets and make their way over to Stiles, their bodies tense from the nerves.
"Okay, this one will get you into all of the perimeter doors..." He passes the first keycard over. "This one into the evidence room..." He passes another, "And this one's for my father's office."
Scott and Kira share a look before Scott looks back to Stiles. "You didn't steal these, did you?" He asks anxiously.
"No, I cloned them using the RFID emulator." Stiles simply replies.
"...Is that worse than stealing?" Scott frowns.
"...It's smarter..."
Scott nods slowly as Kira pulls away. "Scott, can I ask you something?" Kira asks.
Stiles scoffs as Scott follows, "Okay, I'll just..."
"You didn't tell him anything, did you?" She asks, "About the pictures?" She clarifies as a confused look fills Scott's face.
"Oh, no! I just said that you have some pictures of you on your phone that you didn't want anyone to see..." Scott explains.
"What kind of pictures?" Kira questions.
"...Naked... pictures..." Scott awkwardly admits.
"Oh." Kira answers before nodding, "Good idea!"
"Okay, cool." Scott breathes out in relief.
"Okay." Kira says, moving back over to Stiles who watches and shakes his head.
"Okay." Stiles mocks. "So, now almost everybody's out dealing with the blackout, but there's always somebody at the front desk - there's dispatch and usually a night-shifter or two. You guys are gonna use the service entrance by the dumpster, all right? Nobody uses it. Now, I'll text you if anyone comes out, but Scott, if you get caught, I can't help you. My dad's under investigation for impeachment because of your dad, so... if anything happens, I will run and leave you both for dead." Stiles says, face serious.
"Got it." Scott breathes out sheepishly. "Thanks. Seriously, dude." Scott tells his best friend.
"I'd ask my dad, but you know..." Stiles trails off.
"No, I know. I get it." Scott nods.
"All right. Just, uh... hurry up." Stiles sighs. "Isabel's at this blackout party so..."
Scott nods a final time at Stiles before motioning for Kira to follow. The two slink off in the darkness over to the service entrance. Stiles sits back with a sigh, pulling out his phone and staring at the text Isabel left.
Something didn't seem right with her since last night.
After waiting a few more minutes he starts to fiddle with his keys, before he catches sight of the key he saw earlier. He stares at it in confusion before the sound of a car pulling up catches his attention. He throws the keys aside as he spots Scott's dad pulling up.
"Aw, hell." He quickly pulls out his phone again, messaging Scott. "Come on, Scott." He mumbles. He looks up to see Rafael going into the station and panics. "Okay, I am so going to regret this." He opens his Jeep door and rushes in after him.
"Oh... Hey, hey!" He calls after Rafael, running infront of him to stop him. Rafael looks at him confused. "Wow! Thank God you are here! Oh, boy! Thank the lord!" He laughs nervously as he blocks the office door that connects to the room Scott and Kira were hiding in.
"What do you want, Stiles?"
"Oh, jeez!" Stiles breathes out, "I was just... I was thinking on the case." He stammers, "I was thinking I should clue you in on my thinking. Here's my thinking. I was thinking this - I was thinking that Barrow, right...? I was thinking that Barrow received the information about who to kill at the school, right? You know that? So, I was thinking, maybe the person who gave him that information - check this out - might actually be someone at the school." He pauses for a moment - poking Rafael's chest before awkwardly dropping his hand. "And that's, uh, my thinking..."
"Hmm...You're right." Rafael responds.
"I am?" Stiles asks, surprised.
"Yep. We, uh... We started looking for links between Barrow, faculty, and students last night." Rafael tells him.
"So, you already, then, know that stuff?"
"Mmm." Rafael hums.
"You already thought of that." Stiles sighs.
"Your dad did." Rafael explains.
"Oh..." Stiles happily nods.
"His one useful suggestion." Rafael snipes, moving to swipe his keycard - it bleeps and flashes green to show it had been accepted.
Stiles' face drops angrily, "You know, this attitude that you have toward my dad?" He gravely asks. "You can dress it up to all the professional disapproval that you want... But I know the real reason why you don't like him."
Rafael looks to the ground as he chuckles softly, "Is that so?"
"Yeah... Because he knows something that you don't want him to know." Stiles tells him, but Rafael shakes his head before trying to get past again. Stiles moves over with him, still blocking his path, "And guess what?" Stiles begins to whisper, "I know it, too."
Rafael stares at Stiles for a moment silently, before swallowing hard. "Go home, Stiles. There's a- there's a curfew." He clears his throat before reaching around and swiping his card again.
Stiles allows him to move around him, and watches as Rafael enters the office before he leaves without another word, his face dark. He exits the station and leans against his Jeep as he waits, head raising as Kira and Scott scurry out giggling.
"We did it! All the pics deleted!" Scott grins.
"That was awesome!" Kira excitedly says, Stiles giving a look of shock at the small girl. "I mean, terrifying - completely terrifying! But kind of awesome. I've never done anything like that before. Have you?" She asks the two.
Stiles and Scott share a look. "Yeah... Once or twice..." Stiles answers.
"Hmm..." Kira gives an intrigued look.
"So, I guess I should take you home." Scott tells Kira. He gives Stiles a smile before they move over to his bike, Scott watching as Kira gets on behind him. He pauses as he thinks back to what Stiles said earlier. "Hey, you don't want to go to a party, would you?"
Kira grins in response.
•• ━━━━━ ••●•• ━━━━━ ••
Lydia stands beside Isabel, watching carefully as she downs what seems to be her 8th drink. Isabel rolls her eyes as she turns to face the fellow red-head.
"What?" Isabel snaps.
Lydia is shocked but keeps her face unbothered. "Where did you go last night?" She asks.
Isabel shrugs, swaying to the music. "I was with Stiles."
Lydia pauses before nodding slowly. "Yeah." She quietly says, eyes still on her cousin as she knows she's lying - yet unsure why she was. "How is he?" She asks, Isabel giving her a confused look.
"He's fine. He's made a lovely investigation board but it's all covered in red string." Isabel babbles. Lydia frowns, Isabel sighing as she looks at her face. "Red string means unsolved." She explains.
"Oh." Lydia breathes, pursing her lips.
"As you can tell the investigation's going well." Isabel scoffs.
Lydia watches her for a moment. "Are you okay?"
Isabel glances at her, annoyed. "I'm fine."
"You seem off." Lydia responds, turning to fully face her cousin. "Even my mom is worried. You don't seem yourself."
"This is the real me, Lydia. Deal with it." Isabel huffs.
Fed up of Lydia's questions, Isabel turns and sees Stiles making his way through the crowd of bodies with Scott and Kira. She smirks as she glances to Lydia before moving off in Stiles' direction without a word - throwing her plastic cup aside.
"It just showed up there on my key ring this morning. I asked my dad if he put it there, but he said he didn't know anything about it." Stiles shouts to Scott over the loud music.
"It's just a key, right?" Scott shouts back, frowning.
"Yeah, but it's not mine. And I don't know it got there, or what it's for." Stiles responds.
"You want to leave so we can figure it out?" Scott asks, looking at Stiles worriedly.
"Uh..." Stiles trails off, looking around for any sign of Isabel.
Isabel moves up behind the three, wrapping an arm around Stiles' waist as she circles to his front. She moves her hands up to his neck as she plants her lips on his, catching his breath in his throat.
She pulls away victoriously, glancing over to see Lydia still watching with a confused look. "Happy Halloween!" She calls to her host's boyfriend with a grin before moving off to the bar for another drink.
Scott and Kira shared a shocked look as they watch Isabel. Stiles turns to face Scott with a grin, "It can wait. It can wait." He quickly moves off after Isabel, "Hey!"
"Hey!" Isabel shouts back, next drink in her hand.
"Are you okay?" He asks, placing his hand on her cheek.
"Yeah! Lydia's getting on my nerves but it okay because I'm really drunk!" Isabel grins, spinning around and causing Stiles' hand to drop.
"How much have you had to drink?" Stiles asks, watching with concern. Isabel wasn't like this, something is wrong.
Isabel pulls Stiles close and wraps his hands around her waist. "Does it matter?" She grins, placing her lips on his again.
All the thoughts about Isabel's behaviour vanish.
"I guess not." Stiles breathes out, his hands gripping her waist tightly.
He would never be able to turn Isabel down.
"Do you want to dance?" Isabel asks, turning around in his grip and putting her back against his chest.
"Yeah!" Stiles agrees, allowing himself to be led to the dance floor.
Watching from a distance, Lydia watches as Isaac and Allison dance together. "Oh, finally!" She breathes out.
She spots Isabel and Stiles, her eyes watching the latter in confusion as he flaps around on the dance floor. "Awkwardly." She frowns, her eyes drifting over to Isabel for a moment - her mothers words still fresh in her mind. Was she right after all?
Turning around, she spots Aiden dancing suggestively with two women and rolls her eyes. "Predictably."
The hairs on her neck stand to attention as snarling fills her ears, she twists around and spots a figure dressed in all black - a mask adorning its face. Within a second, the figure is gone but then he appears again.
Lydia worriedly pushes through the crowd, desperately searching for Isabel or Scott - for someone. She calls their names but it's useless, and she notices the figure closing in. She turns back out of fear, running for safety.
She finds herself out on the balcony of Derek's loft, panting as she slams the door shut. She can see the party continuing inside and turns to lean over the side as she catches her breath.
She freezes as the snarling fills her ears again, goosebumps covering her arms. She turns her head, noticing black smoke dancing on the ground. Her mouth drops as hands climb out of the smoke, the dark figure she ran from pulling its self out of the ground.
She whips around, screaming desperately but nothing comes out. Another dark figure stands behind her, stopping her in her tracks and holding its hand in front of her mouth - silencing her scream.
Lydia can only watch horrified as he voice is stolen, and the glowing yellow eyes stare into hers. It raises its hand, placing it on her neck. Lydia can only stare as her vision fades.
Isabel makes her way over to Stiles with two drinks, holding them up with a grin. "You have a bottle opener?" She asks, sitting next to him on the stairs.
"Yes!" Stiles pulls out his keys, a bottle opener attached and opens Isabel's beer.
Isabel narrows her eyes as a glowing key catches her attention, grabbing the set of keys from Stiles' hand. Stiles jumps as she takes them, watching her confused.
"Your key has phosphors on it." Isabel laughs, "Look!" She shows Stiles the key that caught her attention, a glowing fingerprint left on the base.
Stiles leans closer to look, a frown on his face. He turns to Isabel, who watches him. Without a word she closes the distance, kissing him deeply - enjoying Isabel's angry thoughts echoing in her mind.
"Oh!" Stiles mumbles between kisses, shocked at Isabel's behaviour. He eagerly reciprocates the kiss, holding the key in his hand still. He pauses a second, pulling away slightly.
"Ummm... I'm sorry - what are phosphors?" Stiles asks.
"Oh, they're any substance that luminesces. It's in your teeth, your fingernails, laundry detergent...Reacts to the UV light - that's why it glows." She explains, bringing the drink up to her lips.
Stiles gives an interested look, and when Isabel turns back around he catches her lips again - continuing where they left. Isabel raises her hand and places it on Stiles' cheek.
Suddenly, Stiles pauses again, but doesn't back out of the kiss. Isabel opens her eyes confusedly, their lips still connected. Stiles pulls back again, eyes returning to the key.
"How would I get phosphors on my key?" He questions.
"Have you been handling chemicals?" Isabel shrugs, leaning her head on her hand as she suddenly goes dizzy.
"No, I don't think I..." Stiles freezes in place. "I'm sorry." Stiles shoots up from his seat. Isabel raises her head confused, gripping the seat for balance. "I'm really, totally sorry. I just thought of something and I have to go. Really, I want it. I want to stay. I would just stay all night... I swear... But I really have to go, and I don't want to upset you." Stiles rambles.
Isabel frowns confused before shrugging, "Okay...?"
"Sorry, I just..." Stiles trails off before leaning in and placing a single kiss on Isabel's lips.
"Okay? Okay..." Isabel tells him.
Stiles looks around and grabs a bottle of water, handing it to Isabel. "Here. You drink that. Drink that whole thing. Whole thing, okay? Excuse me. Bye!"
Isabel watches the boy retreat into the crowd, "Your boyfriend's really weird."
She chugs the water and throws the empty bottle aside before standing with a stumble.
"Ugh, enough of this. I've got a crystal to deal with." She says to herself before leaving the loft and heading back home.