"Come on, Oliver. We've been over this twice already." Lydia deadpanned as she tapped her pen against the side of the textbook. She sat cross-legged on his bed, eyes staring at his deflated form by the desk on the other side of the room. "What is the difference between a saturated solution and an unsaturated solution?"
Oliver massaged his temples, stifling an annoyed groan. "Um, a saturated solution is a solution that contains..." he trailed off, squinting, as he tried to remember the exact words. "It contains the maximum amount of, uh... what's the word? Sauce?"
Lydia rolled her eyes, replying in an unamused voice. "Solute."
He grimaced. "Right... It contains the maximum amount of solute that is capable of dissolving. And an unsaturated solution is everything I just said but put 'less than' before maximum." Oliver finished, glancing at the strawberry blonde to check if he was right.
Lydia nodded slowly, a small smile tugging at her lips. "That's right... Technically. But I'm pretty sure Mr. Harris is looking for the full answer for unsaturated solutions as well." she pointed out. "So, the full sentence, please."
This time, Oliver couldn't help but groan. "It's one sentence. One that I know. Can't I just skip it so we can move on? We've been on this subject for an hour already." he whined, resulting in Lydia crossing her arms over her chest.
"We've been on this subject for an hour because you half-ass it," she stated firmly. "The full sentence. Say it."
He rolled his eyes but complied. "An unsaturated solution is a solution that contains less than the maximum amount of solute that is capable of being dissolved."
Lydia smiled, satisfied. "Now we can move on." she looked over the many books scattered on the bed around her. "How about we finish with math?"
Oliver scowled, clearly against the idea. "Fine," he grumbled.
🐺
"Holy shit, is your dad okay?" Oliver asked, concern practically radiating off him as he looked at his best friend. He had of course heard about the mountain lion incident that took place after the parent-teacher conference, but the news of Noah being hit by a car just minutes before came as a surprise to him.
Stiles nodded, raising his eyebrows as he pointed sternly at the Pérez boy. "Yes... but you're not allowed to tell Scott that," he stated. "I want him to feel bad as long as possible ─especially since we both know I'm probably going to fold and speak to him by the end of the day."
Oliver gave the Stilinski boy a look. "That's incredibly low and incredibly petty, Stillie Starfish."
Stiles smirked, patting his best friend's shoulder nonchalantly. "I know, Olive Oil. That's the point." he winked as they entered the English classroom, taking two empty seats next to each other in the back. "Remember the rules?" Stiles asked, demeanor serious. He knew that it was only a matter of time before Scott would walk in.
Nodding, Oliver leaned over slightly in his seat. "No talking to Scott at all unless you've spoken to him first. If I do decide to speak to him, I will join his sentence of being shunned as well," he replied, saying the words Stiles had texted him that morning.
Satisfied, Stiles sent him two thumbs up.
Not even a minute later, Scott walked through the door, glancing around the room in search of his friends. Stiles slumped in his seat, scowling as he refused to meet the McCall boy's gaze. Oliver smiled sheepishly as he drummed his fingers against the desk nervously. He hated when his friends were fighting, something that thankfully didn't happen too often.
Scott sat down in the seat behind Stiles with a sigh. He hesitated before speaking, eyes flickering between his friends. "Still not talking to me?" he inquired, his body deflating when he didn't receive a reply from either of them. "Can you at least tell me if your dad is okay? It's just a bruise, right? Some soft tissue damage? Nothin' that big-"
Oliver shook his head and Stiles pursed his lips. "His dad's fine." he interrupted the McCall boy's slight rambling. When Stiles shoot him a dirty look, he rolled his eyes. "Stiles, come on man. He's obviously sorry about it. Can't you just forgive him?"
Stubborn, the Stilinski boy glared at his best friend. "No, and now you're shunned as well."
Oliver groaned. "You pressured me to forgive him after he literally clawed my sister's arm! It's not like Scott was driving the damn car," he stated firmly, crossing his arms over his chest as he sunk down in his chair.
Scott furrowed his eyebrows. "Would you talk to me if I told you that I'm trying to figure this whole werewolf thing out, and... that I went to Derek for help?" he questioned slowly, dragging out the words in slight hesitation.
The Pérez boy immediately perked up in his seat, eyes wide with curiosity. "What? When? Where? How? Tell me what he said!" he hurried out in a single breath, making Scott chuckle in amusement.
Stiles narrowed his eyes, refusing to turn around and look at the McCall boy. "If I were talking to you, I'd say that you're an idiot for trusting him. But, obviously, I'm not talking to you..." he trailed off, shifting uncomfortably in his seat.
The bell rang and Scott decided to drop trying to speak with him at the moment. But after only a short moment, Stiles let out a rather dramatic sigh as his curiosity took over. He spun around in his seat.
"What did he say?"
🐺
"Wh-? He wants you to tap into your animal side and get angry?" Stiles asked incredulously after class as they walked the halls.
Scott shrugged. "That's what he said."
Oliver nodded his head slowly, eyebrows furrowed. "I mean, it kinda makes sense," he remarked, receiving a look of disbelief from Stiles. "What? It wouldn't surprise me if that's how he learned. The dude has got some serious anger buried inside him." he reminded them and Scott tilted his head.
"Yeah, that's true."
Stiles pursed his lips. "All right, well, correct me if I'm wrong, but every time you do that, you try to kill someone, and that someone's usually us," he stated sarcastically as he waved his arms dramatically.
Scott sighed in defeat. "I know. That's what he means when he says he doesn't know if he can teach me. I have to be able to control it." he explained, referring to the words Derek had told him the night before
Oliver knit his eyebrows together. "Well, how's he gonna teach you to do that?"
The McCall boy shrugged halfheartedly. "I don't know. And frankly, I don't think he does, either..." he stated unsurely.
Stiles suddenly got a look of determination on his face and Olive grimaced, knowing whatever he came up with probably wouldn't be too enjoyable for Scott. "Okay. When are you seeing him again?" he inquired earnestly.
"He told me not to talk about it. Just act normal and get through the day." Scott told him.
Impatiently, Stiles rolled his eyes and slapped his friend's shoulder. "When?" he repeated, this time a little more serious.
"He's picking me up at the animal clinic after work," Scott said with a frown.
Stiles nodded. "After work. All right," he mumbled. "Well, that gives us to the end of the school day, then..." he remarked, referring to himself and Oliver. The Pérez boy quirked an eyebrow.
"To do what?" he asked simultaneously as Scott. The two boys shared a hesitant look, not liking the grin forming on Stiles' lips.
"To teach you ourselves."
🐺
Oliver propped his head up on the palm of his hand, elbow leaned against one of the tables in the far corner of the library. His attention was solely focused on Lydia, eyes narrowed down to slits as he tried to make sense of the seemingly terrified expression on her face as she looked over a picture Allison was showing her from a history book about the Argent ancestry.
Her green eyes were dead set on the page, her face draining off the little color visible under her powdered blush. She sucked in a breath, the red eyes of the shadow-figured wolf reminding her so much of the accident that had occurred only a few days prior. Shaking her head, Lydia smiled a tight-lipped smile when she was snapped out of her trance by her brunette best friend calling her name.
She abruptly stood from her seat, waving at Allison before strutting away. Lydia stooped mid-way out of the library, eyebrows creased just the slightest. Spinning on her heels, she changed direction, walking straight toward the table where Oliver and his friends were seated. She all but slammed her hands down onto the table, a sickly sweet smile plastered on her lips as she pointed a perfectly manicured finger straight at his chest.
"You're failing practically everything, correct? Not only math and chemistry?" Lydia questioned as she stood up straight, brushing away some nonexisting creases on her pleated skirt.
Oliver blinked, utterly dumbfounded by her straightforwardness. His cheeks flushed bright pink, and he cleared his throat upon noticing Stiles' bemused smirk. "I, uh, yeah? According to my teachers, at least," he replied, stumbling over his words.
Lydia pursed her lips, nodding slowly. "Come over to my house then, sometime this weekend. If you're going to improve your grades before the winter formal, one study section with me isn't going to cut it," she concluded, raising her eyebrows just the slightest. "How about this, you text me any time you feel like studying, and I'll do my best to clear my schedule?"
Oliver nodded, a little too quickly for his own liking, and 'caused a small headache to build up just behind his eyes. "Yeah, alright. I can definitely do that," he said, allowing the smallest smile to form on his lips. "Thank you, Lydia."
She smiled, clasping her hands together in front of her. "My pleasure. See you in chemistry later. And please try to remember what we went over this weekend."
Stiles stared at Oliver with wide eyes and his mouth ajar. He slapped his shoulder almost accusingly. "What the hell was that? Since when do you and Lydia see each other after school, let alone breathe the same air?" he asked in disbelief.
Oliver shook his head, not being able to suppress the giddy smile forming on his lips. "I have no idea," he admitted honestly. Scott grinned from across the table from where he was hiding behind a book to avoid Allison.
"Go, Ollie."
Passing by Allison's table yet again, the brunette leaped forward to grasp Lydia's arm, stopping her in her tracks. "What are you doing with Oliver?" she asked, glancing between her friend and the Pérez boy.
Lydia gave her a look. "I'm helping him study to pass the upcoming math test," she answered, tilting her head slightly. "Why?"
Allison furrowed her eyebrows slightly. "Well, what about Jackson? Does he know about you two?" she asked, her voice holding a hint of accusation to it as she folded her arms across her chest.
The strawberry blonde chuckled, looking nothing but amused. "Know about us? Allison, we're studying, not sleeping together," she stated, flicking some hair over her shoulders. "We're... friends." Lydia patted her friend's shoulder, smiling a tight-lipped smile. "Have fun with the history assignment."
🐺
Gathered on the lacrosse field during their free period, Oliver raised his eyebrows in surprise as Stiles started digging through the duffle bag he'd brought. "Okay..." he trailed off, pulling a heart monitor from the bag and handing it to Scott. "Now put this on."
Scott quirked an eyebrow in confusion. "Isn't this one of the heart rate monitors for the track team?" he inquired as he looked it over, sharing a uneasy look with Oliver.
Stiles shrugged, squinting up at Scott when the sun blinded him. "Yeah, I borrowed it."
Oliver shook his head. "You mean you stole it." he corrected, making Scott nod in agreement.
Offended, Stiles gave his friends a look of disbeleif. "You really think that low of me?" he questioned, huffing when both of them smiled sheepishly in reply. Stiles rolled his eyes. "Temporarily misappropriated!" he inserted in his own defense. "Coach uses it to monitor his heart rate with his phone while he jogs, and you're gonna wear it for the rest of the day." he explained as he fished a phone out of the pocket of his pants.
Scott raised his eyebrows warrily. "Isn't that Coach's phone?" he asked.
Stiles pursed his lips as he nodded halfheartedly. "That I stole." he admitted without any regret in his voice whatsoever.
Oliver groaned, slapping his shoulder. "Dude," he exclaimed with a sigh. "Why'd you do that for?"
The McCall boy nodded. "I'd like to know as well." he inserted to the conversation as he raised his hand.
Obviously annoyed, Stiles shook his head. "All right, well, your heart rate goes up when you go wolf, right?" he asked, reciving a nod of confirmation from Scott. "When you're playing lacrosse, when you're with Allison, whenever you get angry... Maybe learning to control it is tied to learning to control your heart rate." he suggested, looking between his friends.
Scott grimaced hesitantly whilst Oliver shrugged. "That is actually not a bad idea, Scott." he stated, earning a grin from Stiles. "I mean, I was prepared for the worst so I'd say anything that doeans't involve you running through the halls naked is a win."
The McCall boy thought for a momment. "So I'd be kinda Like the Incredible Hulk?" he questioned, seeming to like the idea better by the second.
Stiles nodded slowly. "Sure..."
Scott grinned as he shook his head. "No, Stiles, I'm the incredible Hulk."
Oliver chuckled lightly. "Whatever floats your boat, buddy. Now how about you shut up and put the strap on so we can get started? We only have twenty minutes left of our free period." he concluded.
Stiles clapped his hands together as Scott started to wrap the stap around his waist.
🐺
Wearing a too pleased grin on his face, Stiles taped Scott's wrist together behind his back. The McCall boy grimaced in pain as his skin started hinting red from his wrists rubbing together, the tape digging into his skin just the slightest.
"This isn't exactly how I wanted to spend my free period." he commented as he glanced at Stiles over his shoulder.
Oliver sent him a smypathetic smile from his place on the bleachers. "Yeah, me either." quickly when his friends weren't looking, he snapped a picture of Scott in his current perdicament, sending it to Gabriela for her to use as blackmail in the future.
Stiles ignored both of them as he grabbed the duffle bag and lacrosse stick lying by Scott's feet. "Alright." he said as he backed away a few feet. "You ready?" he turned and started fully walking away.
"No." Scott deadpanned as he tugged on his wrists.
"Remember, don't get angry." Stiles commented with a grin, nodding toward Oliver. "Olive Oil, start the app please."
Shotting his best friend a thumbs up, Oliver pressed the few buttons necessary to start Coach Finstock's phone and open up the SportsTrait app.
Scott shuffled nervously on his feet as he glanced between the two boys. "I'm starting to think this was a really bad idea." he stated as he watched Stiles easily scoop up a lacrosse ball into the net of his stick.
"No backing out now, Scottie." he said without an ounce of sympathy in his voice. He narrowed his eyes as he rolled the stick in his hands, prepping himself before hurling the ball straight into Scott's shoulder.
The McCall boy doubled over in pain as he groaned, Oliver wincing as he watched the numbers on the heartrate monitor vary between 110 and 115. Stiles chuckled, clearly enjoying himself as he scooped up yet another ball.
"Oh, man." Scott groaned. "Okay, that one kind of hurt..." he remarked, making Stiles shush him almost immediately.
"Quiet." Stiles practically ordered in a stern voice. "Remember, you're supposed to be thinking about your heart rate, all right? About staying calm." he reminded the McCalll boy, waving his hand around slightly to make his point.
Scott nodded, still looking very hesitant as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath, narrowly avoind a ball Stiles threw at him with no warning. "Stay calm. Staying calm. Staying totally calm. There's no balls flying at my face--" he muttered before interupting himself as he got hit with another ball on the neck. "AHHH! Son of a bitch!"
A few more curse words left Scott's lips as he got hit repeatedly by lacrosse balls, Oliver raising his eyebrows as he took notice of Jackson watching them. He got up from the bleachers, arms crossed over his chest as he approached the Whittemore boy, ignoring how Stiles was taunting their friend about his aim improving.
"Hey," he called out, catching Jackson's attention at once. "This, uh, is a closed practice." Oliver explained, nodding toward his friends. A grin tugged at his lips as he turned back. "Unless you wanna join? Stiles could just another target."
Jackson glared at Oliver as he rolled his eyes. "I think I'll pass. Besides, what are they doing anyway?" he inquired, curiosity shining through his harsh demeanor as he chuckled at Scott basically screaming out in pain.
Oliver looked at they boy like he was crazy. "Well they're practicing their aim, of course. I thought you, the captain of the team, would know that." he shook his head slightly, appearing to be dissapointed as he 'tsk'ed. "Well, nice talking to you." he winked teasinglyy before jogging back to the bleachers, grinning from ear to ear as he watched Jackson storm away, obviously annoyed.
"Don't get angry!" Stiles called out before taking another shot.
Scott glared. "I'm not getting angry." he growled, taking three more balls to the leg, stomach and shoulder. "Stop. Just-- can we just hold--" another ball came hurling, hitting him straight in the face, making him colapse onto the ground.
Oliver's eyes widened as he glanced down at the phone, the rappid beeping coming from the phone alerting him off Scott's quickly rising heart beat. With the phone in his hand he rushed over to Stiles, holding it out for the boy to read the number 164 in bright red colors.
"Scott?" Stiles called out, concern visable on his head as he stared at his friend.
Suddenly, Scott broke free from the tape, prepping himself up on all fours as he took a deep breath. The heartbeat monitor stopped beeping as the numbers rappidly decreased. Immediately Oliver and Stiles sprinted over to their friend.
Oliver carefully put a hand on Scott's shoulder, patting it reassuringly. "Scott, you started to change--"
"From anger." the MCall boy interupted him, rolling onto his back as he panted briefly. "But it was more than that-- it was like, the angrier I got, the stronger I felt." Scott explained throygh a strained voice.
Stiles nodded curtly. "So it is anger, then. Derek's right." he said with slight distaste.
Sadness radiated off Scott as he allowed his head to fall backwad onto the grass. "I can't be around Allison." he mumbled, running a hand over his face.
Oliver furrowed his eyebrows in confusion. "What, why? Because she makes you happy?"
He shook his head. "No... Because makes me weak."
A/N
I actually loved this chapter, minus the last part since it was extremely rushed. I've just been finding this chapter incredibly hard to write from not knowing how to start it to not maniging to push myself to finish it until now. But like always, I have to remind myself that not everything I write can be perfect. <3
I felt it necessary to add a little of Jackson and Oliver showing their obvious distaste for each other since that will play a really big part in the next episode (Night School) and season two. Let's just say that they aren't going to be best of friends.
I hope you enjoyed this chapter and don't forget to vote and comment your thoughts, it's literally the only thing keeping me motivated to write. I love you all so, so much. Have a wonderful day/night loves! (Not spell checked, please do point out any spelling/grammar mistakes, it only improves my writing.)
-Jazz