✧･ﾟ: *✧･ﾟ:* 2.09 *:･ﾟ✧*:･ﾟ✧
'have you ever been psychologically evaluated? i think you'd benefit from it. the state of delusion which you live in is incredible'
✧༺♥༻✧
"Who?" Derek asked, turning the car around and speeding back to the rave.
"Fucking Matt. He's gonna be gutted. He's gonna have been waiting for like two hours. I'm his lift home." Lottie grumbled.
The two sat in comfortable silence until they arrived at the rave... and Matt stood outside, kicking dirt with his shoes. Lottie thanked Derek who was watching the boy as she got out of the car and jogged over to him.
"Matt! There you are! I've been looking all over for you? I came back from getting drinks and you were gone! You should be a magician, that little disappearing act you have going on there." Lottie teased, hoping he wasn't too annoyed at her. She wrapped Derek's jacket around her tighter, trying to hide the blood on her top.
"Me? You're the one who vanishes. Like a ghost." He joked back, shaking off his anger at the lack of attention she'd given him, after all, he still had the drive home.
"You disappeared Matt." Lottie compelled him, not even realising she was doing it.
"I disappeared." Matt repeated, dazed.
"Shall we go? It's getting late huh?" Lottie smiled, pointing to her car.
"Sure, the night is young though, don't you think?" Matt smiled, taking Lottie's hand again. Lottie internally groaned, she just said it was getting late, how had he taken that as the night being young?
The two got in the car and as Lottie turned to put her seatbelt on, Matt lunged at her, grabbing her face in his hands and placing his lips on hers. Lottie froze before pulling away swiftly.
"Uh I-" Matt started.
"Shall we put on the radio?" Lottie asked, rhetorically, turning on the radio and cringing as Dua Lipa's 'One Kiss' began to play loudly in the car.
Matt turned back in his seat as Lottie began to drive, she was fiddling with her phone in her lap, connecting the bluetooth up so she could play anything that didn't mention kissing. The drive was silent, aside from Lottie's loud music blaring as she pulled up outside Matt's house. Matt looked at Lottie before reaching for the car door before turning back to face her. Lottie leaned back slightly.
"About that really, incredibly bad idea I had..." Matt started.
"You mean the kiss?" Lottie asked.
"That's the one." Matt grinned awkwardly.
"Don't stress about it. It happens right?" Lottie smiled back, just wanting the weirdo out of her car.
"For real?"
"Real talk. I'm not going to stress about it." Lottie sighed, smiling tighter.
"So what's the deal then? Are you seeing someone or something? Stiles?"
"Nope. Not really." Lottie answered noncommittal.
"I don't like not reallys. I hate not really's. You never know what to do with a "not really."
"Would you feel better if I was brutally honest? Tell me the truth so I don't have to pretend to feel guilty after telling you it straight." Lottie was growing tired of the conversation now.
"I think so?"
"Matt, you seem like a nice ish guy. But I don't like you like that." Lottie told the boy bluntly as he sat there, mouth gaping like a fish out of water. "What? You said honesty?"
"Message received. Well thanks for the lift." He smiled awkwardly, putting his thumb up as he got out of the car. Lottie slumped back into her seat when he walked away, taking out her phone with the intention of texting Stiles when she noticed Matt's bag.
"I shouldn't... Fuck it." She said quietly to herself as she opened his bag and found his camera. Turning it on she flicked through all the lacrosse pictures before she noticed pictures that Matt shouldn't have. Pictures of her. Pictures of her at the lacrosse games, in the hallways, in class, in the canteen, getting in and out of Stiles' car. There were hundreds. She gulped, only to jump when Matt appeared and rapped his knuckles against the car window.
"I forgot my bag." Matt explained, giving Lottie what she could only describe as a disconcerting smile as she opened the window.
"Yeah." She mumbled, handing over the bag and the camera.
"Some good pics in there, you think?"
"Eh, some of them were amazing. Some of them I thought didn't make sense for the yearbook." Lottie replied.
"You want to see some others? I mean this tiny screen doesn't really do them justice. I could show you some on my computer." Matt asked optimistically.
"Depends. Are they more pictures of me eating my lunch in the canteen or are you gonna show me things that you should actually be photographing?" Lottie sassed, waiting patiently for him to move his arm so she could roll up the window.
"I- uh- I just like getting candids. It's part of my job." Matt excused poorly.
"Look, it's late. Maybe another night?" Lottie tried, just desperate to get away from him.
"It's the weekend and spring break? You don't have plans tomorrow do you?" He asked.
"Yeah I do. I'm a busy gal. And even if I didn't, your lack of ability to read a room is astounding." Lottie sighed.
"Well we are in a car." Matt joked, looking at Lottie and explaining, "You know? You said read a room, but you're in a car. I thought-"
"Yeah I got it. Matt, I'm tired and just want to go home. Thank you for tonight but no. I don't want to come upstairs and look at your pictures, now please move your arm before I move it for you." Lottie told the boy.
"You sure?" Matt asked one last time.
"OH MY GOD YES. GO AWAY!" Lottie shouted, finally hitting boiling point. "NO MEANS NO." Matt backed away holding his hands up in surrender. Lottie shut the window before she heard his reply and sped away from his house. "Fucking creep. Even if he isn't controlling Jackanima, I'm getting him arrested for something. Asshole." She grumbled to herself as she made her way to the one place she felt safe. Stiles' house.
Pulling up she smiled, sighing in relief when she saw Stiles' bedroom light on. Grabbing her bag, she took out the key he'd given her before making her way in the house and up to his room. Stiles heard the floorboards creak and spun in his chair, smiling when he saw his world walk into his room. He stood quickly and pulled her into his arms, breathing in deeply as she squeezed him.
"Lotts." He breathed out, resting his head on top of hers. "I missed you tonight you know? Can't believe you were on a date with Matt."
"I missed you too. Was horrible."
"Good. No boyfriends for you." Stiles pouted, pulling away to look at Lottie as she laughed.
"No boyfriends? Ever?" She asked, looking up at him wide eyed.
"Hm, maybe one. But that's it." Stiles told her.
"I can work with that. If he'd have me." Lottie grinned.
"Uh- So- what happened with Matt then?" Stiles asked, flustered.
"He kissed me? Spent most of the night-"
"WHAT?" Stiles fumed, letting go of the girl and pacing up and down his room.
"Well, if you're angry about that, wait until I tell you about his camera roll. Was like a Lottie Wank-Bank Special in there." Lottie shuddered, unaware of Stiles who was visibly shaking with anger.
"Lottie. Distract me." Stiles demanded. Lottie looked confused.
"Why?"
"So I don't get in my car, drive to his house and smash his head in with his shitty camera."
"Okay... Angry Stiles. Okay let's sit." Lottie chuckled, guiding Stiles to the bed before making him sit and sitting in his lap. Stiles looked at their position and gulped. "We find ourselves here quite a lot don't we?"
"Ye-yeah, we do. I'm- I'm not complaining though." Stiles awkwardly flirted. Lottie chuckled before resting her head on his shoulder and wrapping her arms around him.
"You know I gave him both barrels. Told him to go away and I wasn't interested. Shouted quite a bit too actually. He looked terrified." Lottie rambled, smiling as she felt Stiles laugh.
"I adore you Charlotte Bailey."
"Cute." She grinned, pulling away as he shoved her onto the bed whilst he laughed.
✧༺♥༻✧
It was the day of the full moon and everybody was preparing for the night's events, including Derek and his pack in the abandoned railway station. Derek was taking out a length of chain from a trunk whilst he's three beta's watched on.
"What is that symbol anyway?" Isaac asked as he peered inside the trunk, noting the continuous swirls repeated inside.
"It's a triskele." Boyd answered, helping Derek with the chains as Erica shifted from foot to foot. "The three spirals mean different things to different cultures."
"You know what it means to me?" Derek asked.
"Alpha, Beta, Omega." Boyd replied, impressing Derek.
"That's right. It's a spiral to remind us we can always rise to one or fall back to another. Betas can become Alphas. But Alphas can fall to Beta. Or even Omega." Derek explained to his Beta's, hoping to remind them of the importance of their bite.
"Like Scott?" Isaac asked.
"Scott's with us."
"Then where is he right now?" Isaac grumbled, not happy about having to be chained up, flashbacks of his father springing to mind.
"Looking for Jackson. But he won't have it easy tonight either. None of us will..." Derek began as he stood, grasping the chains in his hands. "There's a price for this kind of power. You get the ability to heal. But tonight you'll have an urge to kill anything you can get your hands on. You get stronger physically. But when the moon rises, instinct will override rationality. You've got fangs and claws to protect you. But tonight all you'll want to do is use them to tear something apart."
"Good thing I had my period last week." Erica smirked. The rest of the group turned to look at the girl and smile, even Derek, when Derek then pulled out a steel headband with sharp pins that screw into the wearer's skull.
"This ones for you." Erica's smirk fell.
✧༺♥༻✧
Lottie begrudgingly made her way into Allison's bedroom with Lydia as she carried one of Lydia's shopping bags. It was the strawberry blonde's birthday party tonight and as Lottie had felt like she'd neglected her recently, she was helping her pick out her outfits. Unfortunately this meant going to the house of the woman that tried to kill her and her best friend the night before.
"Clear your schedule. This could take a while." Lydia smirked as she entered the room as Lottie smiled politely and sat on Allison's bed.
"How many outfits do you plan on wearing tonight?" Allison asked, shocked at the amount of bags Lydia brought in.
"Come on Allycat. This is Lydipad, there's gonna be at least four outfit changes." Lottie smirked.
"I noticed you didn't send out any invites." Allison cautiously approached the awkward topic with Lydia as she made her way over to the clothes that were being laid out around Lottie, said girl was picking up the items as Lydia laid them down, humming in appreciation of the strawberry blonde's taste.
"It's the biggest party of the year, Allison. Everyone knows." Lydia replied matter of factly. Lottie smiled reassuringly at the girl.
"I'm just wondering if maybe this year things might be... different." Allison tried.
"Why would anything be different?" Lydia asked as she walked over to the mirror checking herself out as Lottie got up from the bed and made her way over to join her.
"Well, it's just, you know. Things have been a little off lately. People too. Especially people. Like Jackson." Allison continued, internally cringing when Lydia quirked any eyebrow at the girl through the mirror.
"What do you care about Jackson?"
"Do you know if he's coming?"
Lydia turned her attention back to herself, smirking almost sinisterly in the mirror before replying, "Everyone's coming." Flashing herself a smile, she twirled in her dress. "This one's Material Girl. I love it. On me. Not you. This is for you." She reached over and yanked another item out of one of the bags.
Allison sighed, "No one's seen him since last night and I heard his parents are getting really worried. So if you know where he is–"
"Allycat, leave it." Lottie cut her off. Lydia held up a dress to Allison.
"This is definitely your colour. Although, honestly, Allison, you have to start spray-tanning. You're starting to look goth and I don't even know if it's called goth anymore. It's just pale and pasty and not good." Lottie snickered at the girl's expense, only to stop when a knock rapped against Allison's door and her mother walked in. Lottie gave the woman a borderline evil smirk and a tiny wave as she stopped in the doorway, surprised at the girl's presence in her daughter's room. Lottie then dropped her smirk, remembering that it's likely the last night if Victoria's life. She didn't care too much for Victoria, she did try to kill Lottie after all, however she cared about Allison. And this was going to ruin her.
"Mrs. Argent, what do you think of this one?" Lydia asked, oblivious to the tension between the siren and the older woman.
"It's lovely. Allison, can I grab you for a moment to talk? Just the two of us." Victoria Argent asked her daughter.
"Can we do it later?" Allison replied, gesturing to the pile of clothes behind Lottie.
"To be honest, sooner is better." Victoria told the girl. Lottie felt a stab of sympathy. She knew Allison's mother was going to kill herself tonight. She couldn't let that happen without encouraging Allison to say goodbye.
"Allycat, just spend five minutes with your mum. Go on." Lottie pushed the girl towards the door frame, sighing when she saw Victoria send her a puzzled look.
"Fine! But be quick. I want to pick out a dress." Allison sighed as she left the room. Victoria sent an almost sincere smile to Lottie before following after the girl.
Victoria believed in following a code. What code that was nobody but her knew, but because Lottie let her have those few minutes with her daughter, in that moment Victoria Argent made a promise to keep Lottie's secret. Nobody would know Lottie was a siren. Not from Victoria's lips anyway.
"Right, I need to go meet Stiles, I'll be at your party for ten, don't you worry. Love you Lydipad."
"Ah yes, loverboy. Tell him if you're late I'll personally make sure that buzzcut becomes a bald head real quick. Love you too." Lydia threatened as Lottie kissed the girl on the cheek before grabbing her own shopping bag and rushing out the door.
Lottie made her way over to the Stilinski household in record-breaking time, letting herself in the house and up into Stiles' room.
"There's my girl." Stiles grinned, looking up from his mess of a desk.
"Here I am. So, what have you got so far?" She asked, grinning back as she sat on his bed.
"Well-"
"Whatcha doing?" Noah Stilinski asked as he entered the room, looking over the papers and yearbooks in front of his son, making sure to hug Lottie first.
"Satisfying my own curiosity." Stiles answered as Lottie grinned.
"It's over. We brought Harris in this morning for questioning. I mean they brought him in." Stilinski told the teenager, slamming the yearbook shut.
"And?" Lottie asked.
"And they're working on a warrant to arrest him for the murders." He explained.
"For all the murders?"
"Enough of them."
"So not all of them then? Is that acceptable though?" Lottie mused, quietly pondering the thought.
"With what proof?" Stiles asked.
"Remember the couple killed in the trailer? Tire tracks nearby match Harris's car." Stilinski replied, sighing, tired of having to explain himself to his son and the girl he viewed as a daughter.
"Noah, even I know that, that isn't enough to warrant an arrest." Lottie smiled apologetically, hating to butt in but wanting to help Stiles' case, looking as the boy began to open the yearbook again, only to groan at his father who swiftly shut it.
"The same car was seen at the hospital where the pregnant wife was killed. It's got a bumper sticker on it. Some quote from Einstein."
"What quote?" Stiles asked curiously, thinking back to the night of the rave.
"Something like 'Imagination is better than knowledge'." Stilinski recalled from the report, raising a questioning brow as Stiles groaned and slumped back in his seat, defeated.
"I saw the same car at the rave. It was parked outside."
Stilinski pointed a finger at his son, "That means you're a witness. You're gonna have to give a statement."
"But- but the concert promoter, Kara, wasn't in Harris' class. And it makes no sense, what does Mr. Lahey have to do with Harris?" Stiles asked.
"They're both creepy assholes, one of which is definitely better off dead?" Lottie suggested, offering an innocent smile at Stilinski's slightly disturbed look.
Shaking his head, Stilinski walked over to his son, "Look, it doesn't matter. The tire tracks have put Harris at the site of three murders. That's damning evidence."
"To be honest, I think the only real crime he's committed other than being a categorical ass, is dating a potential minor. Allison caught him with some girl at the rave you know?" Lottie mused, laying back dramatically on Stiles' bed.
"We will come back to that." Stilinski said, pointing a finger at the girl who shot a gun finger back at him. "I thought you hated this guy?" He asked his son who had begun flipping through the yearbook pages again.
"No, I don't hate him. He hates me. Lottie hates him though," Stiles flashed a quick grin at the girl who nodded her head rapidly, smiling back, "And if he did kill them, then yeah, lock the psycho up. But there's something missing. There has to be."
Noah Stilinski sighed before putting his hand on the yearbook in front of his son, preventing Stiles from rapidly turning the pages. "You don't have to solve this for me."
"I have to do something." Stiles' voice wobbled as he spoke, causing Lottie to jump up and make her way over to the boy, placing a comforting hand on his shoulder. Peculiarly, Stilinski moved his hand and leaned closer to the book, having spotted something as he moved to close the book.
"What is it, Noah?" Lottie asked politely. As she looked she saw photos of the athletic teams from that school year, plastered over the pages.
"Look at the swim team." Stilinski told the two teens. They leaned forward and realisation hit them with the force of a train. Pictured in speedos and one-piece suits were the Mens and Women's Beacon Hills Swim Teams. Jessica, Sean, the Mechanic, the Promoter. Even Camden Lahey's name appeared on the list.
"Guy, look at the Coach." Stiles said, pointing to the man in the back.
"Oh fuck..." Lottie mumbled as there, staring back at her from the pages of the yearbook, was Mr Lahey.
✧༺♥༻✧
"Right, before we go in, can we go over the plan one more time?" Stiles asked as he carried the massive present he'd bought with Lottie the other day, up to Lydia's front door.
"We've got it covered but sure. I'm gonna stay here for a little while, show face and all that fun stuff, then half an hour before the moon reaches its peak, which is at midnight, I'm gonna leave to go to the lakes, swim with Mayalila for a bit and then come back and party." Lottie smiled at him, dragging out the 'y' in party.
"Are you sure I can't come with you? I hate the idea of you walking through the woods alone." Stiles pouted as Lottie knocked on the door.
"We'll see." She grinned. The door slowly opened and whispering a countdown from three, both her and Stiles shouted, "Happy Birthday!"
Stiles began to struggle, trying to squeeze the present through the door as Lydia rolled her eyes and Lottie muffled her laughter behind her hand.
"Lydipad! We'll meet you round the back. Stiles' gonna wreck the present otherwise. Happy Birthday Angelface!" Lottie called out, laughing out loud as Stiles began to drop the present.
"Thanks Lotts! And don't forget to try the punch!" Lydia called back, her heels clicking on the hardwood floor as she left the two on her doorstep.
"Come on Batman! This way." Lottie helped Stiles carry the present and took him round the back where she was greeted with an awful sight. An empty back garden. Nobody had shown up.
"Scotty!" Lottie shouted to the boy as he grinned in her direction. She made her way over, dragging Stiles after they'd deposited the obscenely large gift they'd bought.
"You see Allison?" Scott asked the duo.
"Scotty, I don't see anyone. This place is a wasteland. Poor Lydipad." Lottie pouted.
"She's right. But we should tell her what we found out." Stiles agreed. He'd caught Scott up with their findings as he drove to the party.
Scott frowned, confused, "I'm still kind of not sure what we found."
"Well we know it's something to do with water. The fact is that all the victims have been on the swim team. The way the Kanima reacted around the pool. Even Lottie, she's the only one he hasn't taken a swipe at. Maybe he can sense that she's one with water or something?" Stiles theorised aloud.
"One with water? What sort of hippie shit is that?" Lottie laughed.
"So whoever's controlling the Kanima really hates the swim team? And is what? Scared of Lottie because she can control the very thing it's afraid of?" Scott asked, even more confused than before.
"Hated. Past tense. Specifically the 2006 swim team. So it could be another teacher, a student back then. Who are we missing? What haven't we thought of?" Stiles asked.
"Right now, all I can think of is getting through tonight." Scott replied, looking wary as he saw Allison exit the patio doors and cautiously made her way over to the trio.
"Jacksons not here." Allison observed.
"Yeah, nobody is." Stiles motioned towards the other four guests who were milling about the pool as Lydia handed them all a glass of punch.
Scott sighed, "Maybe it's just early?" He offered, optimistically.
"Your optimism never fails to amaze me." Lottie mumbled, lightly punching the young werewolves shoulder.
"Or maybe no one's coming because Lydia's turned into the town whack job." Stiles retorted, groaning in pain when Lottie sent a sharp slap to his arm accompanied with a glare. "Sorry."
Allison looked behind Scott to the rising moon, "Should you two even be here?" She asked the werewolf and the siren.
"I'll be okay." Scott replied, smiling gently.
"And I'm leaving soon, the moon will reach its peak in like an hour so I'm gonna head to the lakes in like half an hour." Lottie grinned.
"Look guys, we need to do something. We've completely ignored her for the last two weeks." Allison sighed, feeling bad for the strawberry blond who was wandering aimlessly with a tray of punch and nobody to hand it out to.
"Speak for yourself. I've seen Lydia at least three times a week since her disappearing act." Lottie snapped. Just because her other so-called best friend had abandoned her didn't mean she had. She could also feel her temper start to spike slowly.
"We don't owe her a party." Scott grumbled.
"How about a chance to get back to normal? After all, she wouldn't be the town whack job if it wasn't for us." Allison convinced, giving Scott a smile that made his heart ache. They looked over to Lydia who was trying her hardest to maintain her perfect smile. They all felt a stab in their stomachs when they saw the mask fall briefly and her smile falter.
"I guess I could use my Co-Captain status to get the lacrosse team here." Scott took his phone out and began to text the team. Stiles does the same.
"I know some people that'll really get this party going. Lottie you do too." He grinned, showing her his phone screen.
"Who?" Allison asked.
"We met them the other night. Let's just say they know how to party." Lottie grinned evilly, dialling Miss Moody.
Twenty minutes later the doorbell rang and in walked at least one hundred drag queens and other teens and twenty-somethings ran into the house and the party began. After greeting Miss Moody, Lottie found herself standing alone with Stiles, a glass of punch in her hand, she'd told Lydia she needed to pop out and the girl told her the only way she'd let that happen is if Lottie had a glass of punch.
"Are you sure you're okay? I don't- I just- I hate the idea of you walking through the woods alone. Can I just walk you there?" Stiles asked the girl, fiddling with his fingers. Lottie grinned up at the boy and took his right hand in her empty hand.
"Stiles, I'll be fine. I'll be better knowing you're safe here with Scott and Allison okay? I'll tell you what, I'll literally go in the lake, only stay for the peak hour and then I'll come back. I'll be there and back in what? Two hours tops." She grinned, looking into his eyes. He sighed before smiling back at her and closing his eyes, resting his forehead on hers gently.
"Promise me, you'll be safe? Won't do anything stupid? And will keep me in the loop?" He asked quietly. Lottie gulped, taking in their close proximity before replying.
"Only if you promise to do the same, Batman." She replied.
"Always." He promised, opening his eyes, she beamed a cheeky smile at him.
"Always. So now I need to call you Snape. Don't know how I feel about that but I'll put it on the back-burner. I'll see you soon, okay?"
"I prefer Batman. He grumbled, ruffling the small girl's hair, laughing as she shoved him off.
"Buh-bye Severus." She waved, running out the back gate.
✧༺♥༻✧
Lottie made her way through the forest with ease, she was about twenty minutes away when she began to feel slightly dizzy. Her vision began to blur around the edges as she rested upon a tree trunk. Taking a deep breath, she continued cautiously, thinking that the moon had begun its painful process.
"Lottie!" A voice Lottie knew all too well called out.
"Stiles?" She called out, unable to make out any shapes clearly.
"Lottie! Help me!" Stiles called out again.
"Stiles! I'm coming, just wait there!" She shouted back, picking up the pace as she headed for his voice. "Stiles, where are you?"
"I'm right here! Lottie please! It hurts!" Stiles shouted back. Lottie's breath began to quicken as her vision came back and she saw Stiles being held up by a werewolf on the lakes edge.
"Stiles!" She hissed, running for the boy she loved, claws and fangs extended. Then the beast swiped.
Stiles fell to the ground instantly, blood pouring out of his throat as the beast smirked sinisterly at the girl. Without a second thought, Lottie let out a battle cry and lunged, she almost met her mark when her ankle was grabbed and she was suddenly submerged.
The transformation was unexpected, therefore incredibly painful, similarly to her first transformation. She let out a scream, clawing at the hands that held her in her place.
"Charlotte. It's me. It's Mayalila. You're okay." Mayalila soothed the thrashing girl, taking the cuts she was being given without a single complaint.
"Stiles. He- They- Stiles is up there. I need to go, LET GO OF ME!" Lottie yelled. She slashed at Mayalila before clawing her way to the surface. "Stiles! Stiles!"
"Charlotte! He's not there! You were alone! Look." Mayalila pointed to the empty spot on the deck. "You were alone. I heard you shouting, so I broke the surface, you were about to slash your own stomach. It looked like you were possessed." Mayalila explained as Lottie panted, her breathing returning to normal. The sight of Stiles bleeding out flashed before her eyes as she dove under the water, not stopping until she reached the lakes floor. Her tears came quickly and blurred into the murky water around her.
"I- I saw him dying, He was there. He had his-" She choked on her words as Mayalila swam and wrapped an arm around her, bringing her in close. "Oh my God. Did I really do that?" She asked the older woman, looking at the cuts that were rapidly healing on her skin.
"Don't worry about it. Didn't feel a thing. Look, have you had any herbs or anything? The only time I've seen something like this was when an old sister of mine consumed a drink that had been laced with wolfsbane. It doesn't only affect werewolves, you know? It affects even humans when it's in a liquid form." Mayalila asked, stroking Lottties hair. Lottie froze.
"I've only had Lydia's punch. It's her birthday party. But I'm not the only person that had it. Everyone had it. Scott, Stiles, Allison. I-I need to go. When is the peak over?" Lottie asked panicked.
"Twenty more minutes. You were thrashing and non-responsive for most of the moons peak. Your spare clothes are in the hollow of the willow tree. Twenty more minutes. I'm sure they are fine. They have each other. And sober designated drivers. All they'd need to do is dunk them in water. Splash them back to reality." Mayalila explained. The other day Lottie had brought a bag of clothes in case she ever had to transform with her clothes on, internally she was thanking herself.
"I'm sorry to leave you so suddenly, especially after putting you through that ordeal. I'll come back soon. I promise." Lottie swore. "Why would Lydia poison us though? Did she even do it?"
"I do not know. However, all I do know is life on land is not one for the faint-hearted. I for one am beyond grateful for my home under water." Mayalila smiled. "Come on, let's get you back to your friends." The two swam back to the surface and with one last hug, Lottie made a break for her bag which was hidden in the hollow of a tree trunk and quickly changed into some trainers, cycling shorts and a hoodie before sprinting back to Lydia's.
✧༺♥༻✧
Lottie entered the back garden through the back gate and immediately began looking for Stiles and Scott. The panic still biting at her, she'd believe Stiles was okay when she saw him. Oh, and she also had to avoid getting soaked by the massive pool as she'd definitely turn tonight - her control was lacking now. She made to move towards when a hand grabbed her and pulled her away from the crowd.
"Lottie I-"
"Matt, kindly fuck off. I don't have the time nor the patience for you." Lottie sighed, shaking off his hand with a frown.
"Look, I know I took some pictures of you I should've told you about. But try to look at it another way. Is it really that bad? That I think you're beautiful? That I think you should be the subject of a perfect photograph?" Matt asked.
"I don't even know how you got some of those? Like Peeping Tom level of crazy."
"With a telephoto lens. Come on. Photographers call them candids." Matt explained.
"Have you ever been psychologically evaluated? I think you'd benefit from it. The state of delusion which you live in is incredible. Because what you call impressive, I believe the police call stalking." Lottie mused, sending him a glare that made his skin crawl with anxiety.
"So I'm a stalker now? Is that it? You think my bedroom is wallpapered with photos of you?" Matt began his rant, only for Lottie to cut him off. She put a finger to her lips and pretended to ponder a thought, before sending him a blank look and replying,
"Probably."
"You think I'm the kind of guy who's going to say something like 'If I can't have her, no one can?' Well, get over yourself. There's another pretty girl walking in the room every five minutes." Matt finished his little man power rant.
"Well lucky for you, you lizard looking freak, you only have to wait another two minutes. I wish you the very best of luck. And I wish even more luck to the poor girl you manage to manipulate into thinking you're a decent guy. Now. Fuck. Off." Lottie practically growled at the boy, smirking when he flinched as she took a step closer to him.
"Lottie, wait-" He called out as she made to walk past him, grabbing her arm. She quickly twisted her arm to grab ahold of his and then pushed him up against the shrubbery, laughing when she saw leaves enter his mouth, effectively gagging him.
"If I apply the slightest bit more pressure, your shoulder will go 'POP'," Lottie told him, enunciating the popping sound, "Touch me again and I'll do it."
"What the hell's wrong with you?" Matt asked, muffled by the leaves.
"Not as much as whatever is wrong with you. Now I'm going to leave and you're going to stay here until I am no longer in your sight." Lottie compelled, turning his face to meet hers, grinning when she saw his eyes glaze over. "Perfect, there's a good boy." She patted his head and skipped away, looking out for her boys. Scott came barreling out of the house, bumping into Lottie, almost knocking her over.
"Where's Lydia? Lydia, where is she?" He panted.
"You just asked the same question twice. I don't know the answer, I just got here. It happened to you too, didn't it?" Lottie hugged the boy as he nodded. "What is happening Scotty?"
"If you don't know the answer Lotts, then I definitely don't. But I do know something that'll cheer you up." Scott said, looking down at the girl he towered over. "I found Stiles." And just like that, Lottie felt all the air leave her lungs. Spinning in Scott's arms she turned as saw the boy sitting against a pillar by the pool and in seconds she was by his side.
"Stiles? It's Lottie, you with me?" She asked, taking his face in her hands. He blinked slowly, his eyes stayed dazed. "Stiles, don't hate me." Taking a quick glance around them, she subtly syphoned some of the pool water and dropped it over the boy. "Stiles, you with me?"
"Always. Although I am very annoyed I can't return the favour right now." He told the girl as he stood to his feet. Scott smirked at the two, he couldn't wait for the day they told him they were together.
Lottie grabbed Stiles's hand and motioned for Scott to follow as they made their way out of eyesight in the garden. Quickly, Lottie took all the moisture out of Stiles' clothes, effectively drying him before wrapping him in the tightest hug she could muster, inhaling his familiar scent. "You okay, Catwoman?" She nodded against his chest, not having it in her to reply as images of his dead body flashed behind her closed eyes as she squeezed him tighter. "It's just you're cutting off my circulation," Lottie began to untangle herself, "No, no, don't let go." He complained as he pulled her back into his arms.
"We can't find Lydia anywhere. She must've spiked the punch." Scott told Stiles.
"And dude, everyone--anyone who drank that crap. They're freaking out." Stiles added as they peeked their heads around the side of the house and saw everyone jumping in the pool.
"I can see that." Scott added unhelpfully.
"Guys, I don't know about you, but all this splashing isn't great for me and to be honest-" Lottie started but was cut off by the sound of someone's yelling.
"Stop! Don't--don't–" A panicked voice called out. The trio rushed to the common area and saw a group of people huddling around the pool. Then they heard a splash. And finally, they saw Matt. He was thrashing around in the water, gasping for air as he broke the surface.
"I can't--I can't swim!" He shouted out. The music began to fade into the background as the trio watched, transfixed, as Jackson calmly reached over into the pool and dragged Matt onto the patio. Shivering, teeth clenched in fury, Matt raised his eyes to face the quiet stares as he slowly stood. He turned to flash a brief look in the direction of Lottie, Stiles and Scott when the blare of a police siren and the doorbell ringing snapped everyone out of their daze.
"Cops are here!" A voice shouted.
"No fucking shit." Lottie replied sarcastically. Like a flip had been switched, a once silent atmosphere became one of mayhem, suddenly everyone was moving and racing for the gated exits. Stiles grabbed onto Lottie's hand as she grabbed Scott's keeping them together as the herd of people grew manic.
People poured into the street hurrying for their cars. Lottie dragged the boys to a quieter area and pulled them off the curb. She glanced amongst the party goers, looking for Jackson only to meet the ice-cold glare of Matt. He was dripping wet and sending what could only be described as a look of pure hatred to the girl and her friends.
"I got eyes on Matt." Stiles said as he spotted the boy. He sent his own death glare back as he saw how Matt's gaze lingered on Lottie.
"I got eyes on Jackanima." Lottie mumbled as the Kanima inched out from behind a car on all fours and settled beside Matt. The Kanima wrapped its long tail around Matt's leg, like a child would grasp at its mothers skirt. The three glance at each other with bated breath before returning their attention to Matt and the Kanima. Kanima and Master. Puppet and puppeteer. A group of teenagers rushed past, obscuring their view and when they stepped aside to look again, Matt and the creature were gone.
"Well, I don't think this could get any worse." Lottie rolled her eyes. I mean what else could possibly happen now?