The first half of the game was over, and they were already losing three to one. Stiles' great 'improvement' wasn't great at all, and frankly, he still sucked quite badly. Addy was getting frustrated. Every time she would get the ball, not even two seconds later someone knocked her to the ground.
Stiles had left to go call Scott again. He still hadn't answered, and it was time to go see if they were okay. Addy's hand wouldn't stop shaking from nerves and anger. The whole time she wasn't moving around on the field, she was moving in the spot. Sure, a few people looked at her weirdly, but she couldn't stay still.
The whistle blew, and the ball came towards her. Addy caught it with ease, and before she could get tackled to the ground, she ran. She cradled the ball in the netting of her lacrosse stick, dodging through the several defenders. Addy was just about to make the shot when one particular player from Devenford rammed into her side with more force than necessary.
Addy flew to the ground, her head painfully connecting with the ground. She sat up and swiped her helmet off her head. "What the fuck?" she exclaimed, furious that Brett knocked her down. She was playing great and there had to be more of a reason for him to do it than just the game.
Brett kneeled down to her level, his helmet off as well. "You need to calm down. I can hear how fast your heart rate is, okay? Think of Liam." Brett stood up and put his hand out for her to grab. Looking around, she spotted Liam standing beside the two refs. He had heard the whole thing, and was confused as to why Brett told Addy to think of him. Why would she think of Liam?
"Are you good?"
"No, actually," Brett piped in. "I hit her pretty hard. She should probably sit out for a while."
Addy glared at the tall boy. "I'm fine, actually."
Brayden was on the bench. He was itching to jump off his seat and see if his sister was okay. It was a hard hit, and from the looks of it, she could have easily got a concussion. Addy was forced to sit out for the rest of the game. In case she had some brain damage, they didn't want to make it worse. She insisted she was perfectly fine, and she was. Whatever happened had already healed.
Liam was taken off for the rest of the game. He didn't try to stop the defensemen when they ran by. It was like he was frozen in the spot. Addy knew it was the berserkers. He saw them again; he saw the on the field, in the bleachers behind Addy. Brett noticed too.
He pushed Liam to the ground, similarly to how he pushed Addy, and they talked. She couldn't hear anything – again, stupid not having super hearing – but she was sure it was something about how scared he was.
They lost the game. Badly. It was embarrassing, actually. After Coach yelled at them and then yelled about Scott, everyone changed back to their regular clothes. The locker room was empty besides Addy and Liam. She told Brayden that she would meet him in the car.
"You okay?" Brett Talbot leaned against the lockers. He looked down at the couple and their interlocked fingers.
"We lost," Liam grumbled. He was none too excited that the first game was terrible. He wanted to prove to everyone on the team that a freshman could be good too. He and Addy: they needed to stick together. It wasn't too often that they saw a couple like the two of them, but when they did it was something that they knew was going to be great.
"But you're okay, right?"
"Why'd you do that? Why'd you help me?" Liam asked. Brett hated him, but he still helped. Liam understood why he helped Addy, but why him?
"Because of Scott, and Addy too. They saved me. They saved all of us." Addy blushed. She hadn't really done much, or that's what she thought. She saved Brett – and the others – without even realizing it. There were so many assassins there, and she helped with many of them. "Do you know how lucky you are?"
"What do you mean?"
"Scott's a true alpha. That means he didn't get his power because he was born with it. He didn't get it by stealing it or killing someone. He earned it," Brett explained. Scott was a true leader. He was meant to be a leader. Addy respected him for that: anyone would. She was glad that it was him who found her.
"You're not just strong because you can lift a lot of weight now. You're strong because you can endure. Satomi calls it strength of character." Addy smiled. Liam really was one of the best people she knew, even with his disorder, his quietness when he didn't want to tell her something, how shy he was.
"You're lucky to have him." Brett left the room smiling. They were cute together. Liam grabbed her hand and placed a kiss on her forehead as she leaned on his shoulder.
"Where is he now, then?" Addy asked rhetorically. Liam drew little shapes in her wrist with his thumb. Her phone buzzed. She sighed, pulling it out.
'Went to the loft. They're gone. Lydia says they were taken to Mexico. We're leaving in the morning. Stopping at Scott's to get a scent'
"Shit," Addy murmured. She past her phone to Liam. His eyebrows scrunched together as he read. "Okay, uh, um, so, uh..." Addy didn't really know what to say. They were taken? By who? And why down to Mexico? Her fingers tapped against her thigh. She was panicking badly, very badly. Anything could happen to them. Hell, they weren't even in the same county anymore.
"Addy? Addy, it's going to be okay. We'll leave with them in the morning, and we'll get Scott and Kira back, okay?" Liam grabbed both her hands. She nodded, although tears formed in the corners of her eyes. "It's going to be alright."
Liam pulled her in for a kiss: short and sweet. He pulled away and wiped under her eyes. She was scared that they weren't going to get Scott back. No one had heard from them for hours. All they wanted was one night, one night for themselves. They couldn't even get that back.
"I-I'll get Brayden to bring us to Scott's in the morning, or maybe even Luke so he won't ask as many questions," Addy told him. Liam nodded and kissed her cheek one last time as they left the change room.
Brayden was playing on his phone in the car. Addy took a deep breath. She wasn't going to let him know that she was almost crying. She could hear the music from over ten feet away. "Hey." He put his phone away as she closed the door. "Are you okay? You got hit pretty hard."
"Hmm? Yeah, I'm fine." She never got the chance to actually talk to Brett. She slipped her hands in her pockets. It was freezing in the car. Her fingers met a little slip of paper, and when she pulled it out, several numbers were displayed.
'Just in case.'
)( * )(
"So what are you doing again?"
"We're, um, going on a road trip," Addy said. She was going to get her brother to bring them to the McCall household, but he was still asleep. So she got Luke to come pick them up instead. Somehow, he was a morning person. Addy would never understand how he could do that, she guessed it was because he was used to working really early.
His bed head was covered by his usual snapback, and he wore a simple black shirt. Addy wore her black skinny jeans, a hoodie, and her hair was up in a ponytail. She wanted comfort over looks since it was going to be a long day. They were parked in front of Liam's house, and Addy texted him that they were outside.
He closed the back door to Luke's old truck, mumbling a 'morning' as he buckled up. Liam had never really talked to Luke – maybe a 'hi' when he was talking to Addy, but never a real conversation. Addy didn't want them to talk either, the amount that Luke bugged her about him sicouraged their meeting.
"So, uh, Liam," Luke started. He looked in the rear view mirror to take a look at him. Addy cringed as she knew exactly what he was about to say. Her fears with them all being together came true, and he made a huge point to embarrass her in front of him. "You treating Addy right?"
"Stop that. We aren't even dating." Addy smacked his arm. They were definitely more than friends, but they never really discussed what they were. Liam liked it. He just wanted to be near Addy. He wanted to kiss her whenever he could, and always hold her hand. "Don't be a jackass."
"Just asking." Luke shrugged. "So, how many times have you kissed?"
"I swear to god if you weren't driving right now, Conway, I would kick your ass," Addy threatened. Her cheeks were flushed, and so were Liam's. They weren't ashamed of their relationship, but Luke was the last person she wanted to talk about it with. Thankfully they arrived at Scott's house before he could ask any more questions.
"Thanks, asshole," Addy mumbled the last part. The front door was unlocked, so the two invited themselves in and waited for the others in the kitchen. Addy could hear them upstairs, talking – just talking hopefully. Footsteps could be heard coming down the stairs. Stiles sighed as he saw the two. "Liam, go home. I said you could come, Addy, not him."
"Why not?" Liam whined.
"Because. It's a full moon, and I don't feel like driving all the way to Mexico just to have you rip out my throat," Stiles sighed. Addy would be handy for when it came to firepower – literally – but Liam couldn't control himself during the full moon yet. Not that she had much control either, but at least she wasn't going to rage out.
"You can lock me up, right? Chain me down to the backseat or something?" Liam argued again. He was going to get down to Mexico. He needed to save his alpha. Liam owed a debt to Scott, and he intended to do everything in his will power to make up for it. If that meant risking his life in another country, then he was fine with it.
"You broke through the last ones, Li," Addy sighed. She wanted him to go too, but Stiles was right. He would only end up hurting them. Maybe if he could keep control, then maybe he would help; but he isn't there yet. What terrified them most that he may never get there with his I.E.D.
"Yeah, we'd have to freeze you in carbonite just to get you down there."
Addy snorted at his reference. Brayden, and his inner nerd side, made her marathon watch both the Star Wars trilogies. Although he claimed that Luke was the one that made him watch them, she knew he wanted to. Her big brother was a giant nerd, even if he wouldn't admit it, and she had to admit that side wore off on her.
"Okay, then where do we get carbonite?" Liam asked. He was confused as to what it actually was, but if it got him down to Mexico, he was down. Stiles looked at him, an utterly disgusted look on his face. The movies were great, why couldn't anyone appreciate them like him? Addison told herself that she was going to make him watch them over the summer.
"Seriously. You haven't seen it either?"
"I got it! I, uh, I got that reference," Addy exclaimed. She was proud of herself for some reason. Stiles looked thankful that he wasn't the only one in the group that had seen the movies. He turned around to leave, wanting to keep the beta behind even more. They had no options and were wasting time.
"Wait!" Liam blocked their way. He rushed ahead while pulling Addy behind him. "What if we put me in the trunk?"
"You'd get out of that, too. Liam, you've been a werewolf all of five minutes. You don't have to do this. Neither do you, Addy." She wanted to; she needed to. Addy owed Scott and that would only begin with saving him and Kira. They would find him, and they would get him back home before it became too late.
"I know, but I want to." Addy grabbed Liam's hand. He was getting nervous, for both his alpha and himself. Liam didn't want to be left alone on the full moon, he didn't want to hurt anyone and the only people who could help him were on their way to Mexico. "There's gotta be bigger chains, a bigger trunk, or something. There has to be."
Stiles thought for a moment. He still didn't want to bring Liam along, but he wasn't going to have a choice. Addy wasn't going to let him stay behind. He wasn't going to let Addy go alone. And they needed her; she was the only one who might actually have a chance against the bone creatures. There was something special about her, and they needed that.
"Maybe there is."
They met Derek and Braeden in an old warehouse. Stiles had called them on the way there, asking if they could get anything that would hold him down. Addy and Liam sat in the backseat of the jeep, still holding hands. Her head rested against his shoulder, and Liam's arm was wrapped around her. They would get through the night together, no matter what happened.
There were two vehicles parked in the building when they got there. The four of them hopped out of the beloved jeep and joined up with the others.
"How did you get a prison transport van?" Addy asked Braeden. Wasn't it really illegal to steal one of those? She didn't need to know that they had once done it before to save the town from Jackson the Kanima. Addy didn't know much about him, just that Brayden always hated him for being so cocky.
"I'm a U.S. Marshal," she responded. Addy nodded her head. She thought she just worked jobs for money. It was cool that she was a Marshal. Addison wondered when she had time to work the job, it was pretty demanding and Braeden was always in the supernatural side of the world.
"Are we really bringing him?" Derek asked as he stepped out of his car. He pointed at Liam and raised an eyebrow. It was a full moon, and it would be very unsafe for all of them if they were trapped in a car with him. Addy believed in him, she knew he could do it, because if Liam really wanted something then he would get it.
"Are we really bringing him?" Stiles retaliated, pointing towards Derek's uncle, Peter. Addy had never seen him before. But, apparently, it was his idea for the deadpool, even if he didn't know about it. The story Lydia told was beyond confusing for Addy, but she got that Peter was a bad guy and that she really didn't want him coming with them. In fact she didn't want him in Beacon Hills from the bits and pieces of stories she heard.
"We're bringing everyone that we can. That's why you brought her." Peter looked towards Addy. She felt intimidated by his stare. Liam could sense her panic and stepped in front of her. The ex-alpha smirked at the two, but looked off to the rest of the group. "And considering Scott and Kira were taken the night before a full moon, we should get going."
"What does that mean?" Addy asked, peaking her head from over Liam's shoulder.
"If Kate took Scott and Kira back to the same temple she took Derek, how do we know she's not planning to do the same thing to him?"
"What? She wants to make him younger?" Stiles questioned. He didn't trust Peter at all. In fact, he should have really just stayed dead the first time. It would have saved them a lot of trouble. He was more trouble than he was worth, by a long shot.
"Or take him back to when he wasn't a werewolf. A werewolf cannot steal a true alpha's power. But maybe a Nagual jaguar with the power of Tezcatlipoca behind her: maybe she can," Peter explained. Addy didn't like the way he acted, like he knew everything. It was creepy. "So, if everyone is sufficiently freaked out, I say we get going."
"We can't. Not without Lydia."
"Where is she?" Addy asked. She knew someone was missing. She just couldn't put her finger on who, which made her feel extremely bad about the strawberry blonde. There was a lot on her mind, it was hard to focus on everything all at once.
"The school. I'm going to give her another call." Stiles picked his phone out of his pocket.
"What's she doing at the school anyway?" Derek asked.
"We got Kira's sword, but we need something with a stronger scent. Lydia went to get a jacket out of her locker," Malia explained. She held the sword in her hand. When they find Kira, she was going to need the sword in order to get the hell out of the place. With Kate and the berserkers, it was going to be hard to get out without getting hurt.
Stiles returned back to the group. "Nothing."
Addy's hands twitched nervously at her side. She hadn't talked to the banshee that much, but she trusted her. Scott trusted her, and she trusted Scott.
"If she has a car, she can catch up to us."
"That's a good point. We'll call her from the road."
"No, what if something happened? What if she's in trouble?" Stiles said. He wasn't going to leave her if she was hurt or in danger. He wouldn't leave anyone, especially not Lydia.
"Fine. You stay: find her. We're gonna go on without you," Peter suggested. Addy didn't know why he was so eager to go. Sure, Addy's always wanted to go to Mexico, but she wanted to enjoy the beaches, the warm sand between her toes, not go look for her friends that shouldn't have been taken in the first place.
"I could call Mason," Liam spoke up. "He has a study group at school. Maybe he could go look for her."
"Alright. Fine." There wasn't any time to go to the school and see if she was there, no matter how much they wanted to go. While Liam was on the phone, Stiles talked to Malia. Addy felt kind of awkward as she stood of to the side. She was bouncing up and down on her toes. She was nervous. They had no idea what they were walking into.
"Remember what we're dealing with. It's not just Kate; it's the berserkers. You might see human eyes behind those skulls. Do not assume that there's any humanity left," Peter told everyone. He could hear how fast Liam's heart was racing. "Oh. This little one is terrified of them, aren't you? Don't worry, my friend. It's the fear that will keep you alive. A reminder to everyone: you don't fight the berserkers to survive. You fight to kill."
They were on the road with the long journey to Mexico ahead. Mason was going to look around the school since Lydia's car was there. He was going to call if he found her. Addy hated long car drives. She couldn't stand being cooped up in a small place for so long. Even if she enjoyed the people she was with, she knew that it was still going to be a long day.
Liam, Stiles, Derek, and Addy sat in the back of the prison transport van. Braeden was up front driving. Liam was handcuffed already, which Addy found odd since the sun wasn't going to set for another few hours. They weren't going to risk him getting angry even if it was still daylight out.
"Okay. I brought something to help you." Derek pulled out a round little piece of wood from his pocket. There was a triskelion on it – the three swirls. "This has been in my family for centuries. It's a very powerful supernatural talisman. We use it to teach young betas how to control themselves on a full moon."
He handed the talisman to Liam, and as he looked at it, Derek looked over to Stiles. He was confused. He knew it was just bought; there wasn't anything special about it. Derek did a little head nod towards Liam. It was just a trick. If he thought it was powerful, then it would work. Addy saw the whole thing, amused by the two.
"Yes, it's powerful." Stiles cleared his throat, and looked towards the two. Addy was having trouble not laughing at how bad his acting was. "Very powerful."
"Have you worked on control or figured it out?" Derek asked. It was silent in the car for too long. Derek sat across from Addy. Her legs were cramped up for having to keep them bent.
"I, um, I've worked on it a little bit. Brett helped me, actually–"
"Brett? As in Prep Brett?" Stiles cut her off, surprised that it was going to be him of all people. He knew he was a werewolf, but why would she get help from him of all people? Liam gritted his teeth, why did it have to be him? Out of everyone it had to be the person he had a feud with, but he knew that if she was learning control from him then he couldn't be angry about it.
"Yeah. He actually helped a lot. I still don't have control, not completely. But I can get it, just takes a while." She shrugged. Addy showed the three boys how she could flash her eyes when she wanted to, and stop them whenever. It wasn't much, but it was more than what she could do before.
"Good. That's improvement." Derek patted her knee. She was proud of herself, that she could finally get something right. There were so many things that were going downhill at the moment, it was good to finally take a step forward. It wasn't much, she knew that, but it felt like a huge step to something else.
Liam didn't like the idea of her hanging out with Brett. At all. In fact, he wished they never even met in the first place. It wasn't like he hated the guy – not anymore, anyway – but Liam was so scared Brett was going to take Addy away from him. He didn't own her, but he liked to consider her 'his girl'. The didn't talk about it, but they just knew.
The grip on Addy's hand tightened. She leaned over and whispered in his ear, "You know, I like you ten times more than I like Brett. You don't need to worry." His hold loosened lots. He didn't even realize he was hurting her. He didn't notice a lot of things with his werewolf strength, it was why he was always so nervous to be around her.
"Wh-what was that?" Stiles stuttered out. He looked between the two with a questioning look. When neither of them answered, he made an assumption for himself. "I swear to god, if you just told him to think of you naked I'm gonna–"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa. No. God no. Jesus, what kind of person do you think I am? It was nothing like that," Addy fumbled. Yeah, maybe he had thought about her being naked once or twice, but hey, he was a guy. It just happened. A blush settled on his cheeks, and he kept his head down. Addy groaned.
"Now you got him thinking of me naked. Way to go."
^^^^
Word count: 4185
April 10, 2016
K SO MY FRIENDS SURPRISED ME WITH TWENTY ONE PILOTS TICKETS AND IT WAS THE COOLEST THING I'VE EVER BEEN TO AND I CAN'T WAIT FOR THEM TO COME BACK BECAUSE IT WAS GREAT AND I'M SO HAPPY AND I WAS IN THE SAME BUILDING AS THEM AND OH MY. I'M JUST SO HAPPY.
But of course me being a little shit, I already knew because about it so it wasn't really a surprise but at least they tried.
except the guy ahead of us was vaping the whole time and he was really tall and I got a shirt but the lady gave me a size too big and its massive. BUT THE CONCERT WAS SO GREAT I DONT EVEN CARE.