"What'd you get for number three on Mrs. Finch's homework?" Liam asked, turning over on his side to look at Aspen.
They were currently at Aspen's house, where Aspen was fixing some of the things back into their place after bringing them to Malia's house with her. She smiled back at him.
"That homework was due last week," she chastised gently, "But the answer is.." She leaned over him, looking over his shoulder at the book laying on the bed. "Nucleotides."
Liam thanked her with a quick kiss on the corner of her mouth and Aspen went back to her desk, pinning up her picture of herself and Liam last summer. She smiled at the picture, nostalgia washing over her.
"How're you and Hayden?" Liam asked, twirling his pencil in between his index finger and thumb. Aspen let her back rest against the edge of her desk as she turned around to look at him. "Good I guess," she replied nonchalantly, "I haven't really talked to her in a-"
The door flung open, revealing Hayden and Mason with alcohol resting in their arms. Mason held a bottle up.
"Who's ready to have a major hangover?"
-/-
No one really thought about the fact that none of them could actually get drunk, excluding Mason. A few hours of watching Drunk Mason prance around, they all fell asleep in Aspen's room. Hayden curled up in the arm chair, Aspen and Liam tangled up in her comforter, but Mason was no where to be seen. When Aspen woke up to the sound of her phone blaring Star Wars music, she figured he had just gone home.
Aspen removed Liam's arm, hearing him whine softly as she stood and answered the phone. "Stiles its three in the morning-"
"Tell Liam to put his clothes back on and come outside. We need your help," Stiles said bluntly. Aspen blushed at what he was implying, but didn't argue. "I-I.. Yeah. We'll be out in a minute," she stammered, looking out her window to see Stiles' blue jeep waiting.
Aspen heard the beep of the line disconnecting as Liam sat up in the bed, blinking and yawning. "What's up?" he asked. Aspen picked his jacket off of the floor and pulled it over her tank top, hugging it tightly to her chest.
"Stiles needs us. He's outside," she told him, shaking Hayden's shoulder softly. She murmured incoherently and opened her eyes, swallowing. "H, we gotta go," she said softly, "We'll be right back."
"Mm-hmm.."
Aspen grinned at her friend and turned to face Liam, now with his shoes on.
"Let's go."
-/-
"He's headed to the school," Aspen noted, poking her head in between Scott and Stiles' seats. Liam frowned. "Why's Parrish headed to the school?"
"It's not Parrish," Scott said, "At least not right now."
Liam rolled his eyes. "Okay, why's a Hellhound going to the school?" Stiles sighed, and muttered sarcastically, "Cause he's got a yearning for higher education. Liam, Hellhound's at the school, so we're going to the school, okay?"
Aspen snorted and leaned back into the seat as they pulled up to the school, clambering put of the Jeep. Amongst their attempts at being stealthy, Liam accidentally slammed the door unexpectedly loudly. He cringed when they turned to glare at him. "Sorry.."
They continued along the school campus, the silence eerie, and Aspen linked her fingers with Liam's for reassurance.
They met Argent around one of the corners toward the bus lot. "Where's Parrish?" Scott asked. "I lost him," Chris replied, "He's moving too fast."
"Scott," Liam said, turning slowly to stare down the hall, "That guy's not moving at all."
The five followed the blood trail to a bus and Aspen's heart stopped. Bodies piled upon bodies hung out of a bus, bright red blood smeared on the yellow surface.
Aspen resisted the urge to bury her head in Liam's shirt at the hideous scene when Scott lifted a finger. "Look..."
There was a boy, younger than she was, still living. He reached a hand out towards them. "Help me.."
Aspen was already on her way to the boy before anyone could stop her, Liam calling out her name quickly.
Scott was just about to join her when Parrish appeared. "It's a trap!" The Hellhound growled. Aspen stopped half way to the bus, her shoes scraping against the gravel. Her head snapped back to the injured boy. "Please," he whimpered. "You can't help him," Parrish told her. She started forward again only to come to a brief stop when the Beast roared from its hiding spot and began to race toward her end of the bus.
A blazing hot hand grabbed her shoulder and yanked her backwards, making her fall flat on her butt as Parrish raced past her.
Liam darted down the her and helped her to her feet, pulling her back with him next to Stiles.
"That big," Stiles said, "No one said it was that big.."
"I did," Aspen breathed in defense, staring at the Beast in horror as it sliced through the boy, knocking the other half of his body out of the bus.
Parrish launched himself at the Beast, flames engulfing him entirely.
"What's happening?" Scott asked Chris as the beast turned and ran, Parrish following. Chris reluctantly replied.
"It's getting smarter."
-/-
Aspen sighed, running a hand through her blonde hair as she sat down on the edge of her bed beside Liam. Hayden had left a note saying she got tired of the chair and went home. "We've still got a few hours before school," she said, "But I don't think I can go back to sleep after that."
Liam cursed. "The charity game's tomorrow.."
Aspen sat up. "It's tomorrow?"
Liam nodded and ran his hand through his hair. Amongst the chaos around them, they had both forgotten completely. And that was major, considering they were the only two sophomores on the team
Yes, as much as she was ashamed to admit it, Liam had taught her how to play over those few blissful, supernatural free months, and she had made the team. At first Aspen was a bit self conscious but with Kira there, she felt better about it. That just added to how much she missed Kira over the summer. Though it didn't really help Liam's anger issues when she beat him, but he got used to it.
Liam grinned and kissed her once. "What was that for?" she frowned. He shrugged. "For being cute." Aspen rolled her eyes playfully as she pressed her lips to his.
Liam's hands tangled themselves in her hair as she pulled herself over him, her hips resting on his. He pulled away from her gently, solemn eyes looking at her and he brushed a piece of hair behind her ear.
"You know I would never keep anything from you unless I thought it was going to protect you," he told her softly. She frowned at him. "Liam-"
"No, I.. I thought I was keeping you safe. I knew you'd do anything to keep Hayden safe and.. I didn't want you to get hurt," he stammered, "I just.. I love you so much. " Aspen kissed him gently again.
"I love you too Liam."
-/-
Aspen grinned as she walked along the school campus, spotting local news station vans prepping for the charity lacrosse game that night.
Her grin grew larger when she spotted Brett sweet-talking a news reporter in his Devenford Prep uniform.
"Which is why we'll be 100% kicking Beacon Hills' butt," Brett smiled charmingly as Aspen walked up behind him. She rolled her eyes, shifted her lacrosse bag on her shoulder and said, "Dream on, Devenford."
The news reporter chuckled sweetly and Aspen smirked up at Brett (way up). He grinned back.
"Tickets still available for purchase," the reporter said cheerily, "This is Kathleen Cassidy for KQNB."
The reporter signed off and Brett turned to Aspen completely, towering over her. "I wouldn't be talking, Shorty," he smirked. Aspen rolled her eyes again and they began to walk. "How's Lori?" she asked.
"Better," Brett replied, thinking about his little sister, "She really looks up to you, you know that right?" Aspen shrugged. "Who doesn't?" she joked. Brett smiled brightly at her and she pulled her phone out of her pocket, replying to Liam's text.
"Liam wants me in the library," she told him, "So, good luck I guess?"
Brett nodded. "Good luck, Shorty. You'll need it."
Aspen thought that the statement was a joke, and at the time it was, but in reality, they were going to need all the luck they could get.
And it didn't retain to the lacrosse game either.
-/-
"Mason said its not just to transmit frequency," Liam told the group of Stiles, Scott, Lydia, and Aspen as they sat around a table in the library, "It's high powered, like it has to be a really strong signal."
Lydia squinted at him. "And that's causing it to shift?"
Scott tapped on the table intently. "I don't think it's just that.. Last night, Argent said its getting smarter. What if the Dread Doctors are trying to make the beast grow faster?"
"With frequencies?" Aspen asked. "No, by shifting.. The frequency's just the trigger. The important part is when it shifts into the werewolf."
"Like Peter," Lydia realized. Scott nodded. "Right. When Peter was an alpha, he got stronger every full moon. Eventually the burns healed and he was back to normal," he explained.
Liam looked up from the table. "So the Dread Doctors don't want to wait for the full moon," he said.
"They want the Beast to be as strong as possible, as fast as possible."
Aspen nodded, understanding. "Because of Parrish."
Lydia shook her head. "I-if this is happening tonight, what are we gonna do?"
Stiles held up a finger. "Well, we got one clue to go on," he said, pulling a picture from his bag, "This came from the hospital."
They leaned forward to glimpse the picture of a bloodied shoe print, enlarged, with a measuring tape beside it.
"Whoever's lurking inside the Beast is wearing a size ten of indeterminate make," he continued. "Indeterminate?" Lydia asked.
"It means it's a partial print," Aspen told her, examining the picture closer. They stared at her. "What? I read.."
"Basically," Stiles continued, "It was all we were able to get considering all the fire, blood, and carnage."
"How many size ten's are out there?" Scott asked.
"Only one with Parrish's blood on the sole," Aspen concluded, "Are we getting the game canceled?"
Stiles replied with sarcasm, per usual. "No, no, we're going to play but we're going to hope really hard that it doesn't turn into a blood-soaked massacre.."
Aspen rolled her eyes and Liam asked, "Aren't we kind of missing out on a chance to catch this thing?" Aspen nodded. "He has a point.. We don't have the 'who' but we have the 'when' and 'where'.."
Scott shook his head. "There's too many people."
"And we still don't actually know if it's going to happen," Lydia commented, "It might just end up being a regular lacrosse game. It's possible, right?"
They shrugged, not believing a word she was saying. "That's absolutely possible," Stiles answered. They were silent for a moment.
"So we're getting the game canceled?"
"We're getting the game canceled."
-/-
The whole pack met in the school before the game, going over the plan.
"Mason, you know your part," Scott said. Mason recited, "Corey and I break into the Devenford Bus and search their shoes."
"I take out the TV vans," Malia said, peeling herself off of the wall. "Right before the whistle, coach forfeits the game," Stiles nodded.
"The rest of us are looking for a size ten with a bloody sole," Liam stated.
Malia sighed. "Just out of curiosity.. What if it doesn't work? What if we have to go up against this thing? I-I mean, I hate to bring up bad memories, but Scott's still healing from what Theo did to him."
Kira looked up at her. "No.. He's not." They looked at Scott.
"She's right," he smiled, lifting up the hem of his shirt to reveal his flat stomach, no wounds in sight, "It happened the night we got Lydia out of Eichen House. I healed when we were all together again. When we were a pack."
"The Beast doesn't have a pack," Aspen said. Scott shook his head.
"Not like us. We can do this guys. No one dies tonight."
-/-
"I can't do this," Aspen said shakily, pulling off her gloves, "Not with a threat like that."
Liam rubbed her shoulders comfortingly. "You won't have to, Coach is forfeiting the game-"
Just as he said this, Coach blew his whistle and yelled, "Martin, Dunbar, on the field!"
Her eyes widened in fear and she looked at Liam. He handed can her gloves and gave her a lacrosse stick. "You can do this, Aspen."
She swallowed as he ran onto the field after Scott, stayin behind a second to look into the bleachers to see Hayden sitting with Sydney. Hayden smiled and Aspen nodded to herself, pulling her helmet on. "I can do this."
She ran onto the field to where Brett and a referee were waiting. She bent down, placing her stick where if belonged.
"Lori's got the bleachers covered," Brett whispered to her. She looked at him and nodded.
The referee blew the whistle and she scooped the ball into her net, only to drop it when two Devenford players the size of elephants crashed into her. Brett easily picked the ball and ran, flicking it into the net.
Brett grinned at her and she rolled her eyes, stalking off towards Liam.
The game proceeded and Kira was kicking butt. Almost quite literally.
Right and left full grown boys fell at the hands of the tiny Korean/Japanese girl. Aspen could've sworn she saw her eyes flash a vibrant orange, like fire.
Suddenly, Kira was thrown the the ground this time, by Brett. "Not so tough now," he said to her.
The was a loud gasp as the end of Kira's lacrosse stick connected with Brett's head, sending his helmet flying.
"You're out!" The referee shouted. Kira grumbled to herself and stomped off the field, Scott trying to follow her.
Seven minutes later and Beacon Hills was down 5 to 1.
When Liam finally got the ball, he was knocked to the ground by a body being slammed into his by another player.
Aspen moaned in pain as Liam fell on top of her. He rolled off, clutching his hand. Scott ran over and helped them up.
"Guys, we're seriously sucking," she said to them. Liam sighed, gripping his wrist. She held her hands out. "Let me see it."
Liam took off his glove and showed her the purple skin that was now fading back into his normal skin color. Scott watched the whole exchange before saying, "It's okay. All we need to do is give the others enough time. Like I said, no ones getting hurt."
He glanced in between the panting girl and her boyfriend with the broken wrist. "Except for us," he said ruefully.
Aspen laughed sarcastically and Scott's head suddenly turned toward the school, eyebrows furrowed. "What? What do you hear?" she asked.
"Kira."
-/-
A few minutes later during a timeout, Aspen and Liam caught up with Brett.
"We need more time," Liam said, "You gotta stop scoring."
Brett rolled his eyes. "You think I haven't been trying? Y-you guys suck. You suck so bad it's impossible to lose against you.."
"What are we supposed to do?" Aspen deadpanned.
"Try not sucking!"
He jogged away to the Devenford bench and Aspen sighed, flustered with him.
Liam and Aspen sat down on their bench and she put her head in her hands. Liam rubbed her back as she screamed internally.
The only thing that made her turn around was Hayden's hand on her shoulder. "Hey," she greeted. Aspen nodded in response, smiling gently.
"I-I'm with you."
Aspen frowned at her words, looking at Liam. "What?"
"I'm.. I'm with you. All of you," Hayden said. A smile danced across Aspen's lips and she shook her head. "Why?"
"Because you're right about Scott.. And because Liam.. He came to my house and convinced me that whatever happens next.. I wanna be with you."
Aspen grinned and Sydney called Hayden's name. Hayden looked at Aspen for permission to leave and she nodded, smiling even brighter.
Aspen then turned to Liam and placed her hands on his jaw, pulling him down to kiss him. Liam's brow furrowed into the surprise kiss but he wrapped her closer anyway, his hands awkwardly placed on her back.
"What.. What was that for?" he asked, a goofy smile playing on his mouth. She teased, "For being cute." He laughed and they kissed again, Aspen tilting her head to get at a better angle. Coach blew his whistle.
"Dunbar, quit eating your girlfriend's face and get on the field! Both of you!"
They jogged on and found a panicky Stiles. "Something's wrong.. I don't think Malia's got all the vans.."
"We'll give 'em more time," Liam said. Stiles narrowed his eyes at them. "How are you gonna do that?"
"Even up the score," Aspen said, brushing a stray wisp of blonde behind her ear. "Once again, how are you gonna do that?"
Aspen rolled her eyes at him. "Just give me the ball," she said to the two boys, placing her helmet on and jogging away.
Liam and Stiles shared a look, knowing good and well that competitive look in her eye wasn't good.
Just as soon as the referee blew the whistle again, Liam had the ball and was racing down the field. Knowing he could hear her, Aspen whispered, "Pass."
The small white ball landed just in front of her and she snatched it up, flinging it swiftly into the net and past the goal keep.
She smirked knowingly and bumped into Brett's shoulder. "That enough for you?"
Nearby, Liam grinned cheekily. Competitive Aspen was hot.
Ten minutes later, the score was evened up with varying goals made by Aspen and Liam.
There was one point when they were tied that the Devenford players got more aggressive (if that was possible) and knocked Aspen to the ground so hard it threw the breath out of her.
She lay on her back, eyes squeezed shut as she panted heavily.
"That's it!" a referee called, "Overtime!"
Liam kneeled beside her and Coach came running over.
"I'd call you an idiot, Martin," he growled, "But we just might win this thing. Get your head out of your butt and come on!"
Liam helped her to her feet and she sighed. "I used to like lacrosse.."
Suddenly, lights burst, throwing sparks everywhere, and a loud, sharp ringing blasted throughout the campus. Aspen and Liam clutched their ears.
When the ringing stopped, a bead of blood rolled down the sighed of Aspen's face and they both spun around, knowing what was about to happen.
Liam could hear it, behind one of the buses. He looked that way, his eyes flashing gold.
Aspen saw the look on his face, but she couldn't tell fast enough, couldn't grab him quick enough.
Liam ran forward, full speed and launched himself into the air.
And straight at the Beast.
A/N:
I AM SO EXCITED YOU GUYS I LOVED THIS EPISODE AND I HAVE A REALLY CUTE HASPEN THING PLANNED FOR NEXT EPISODE ITS GONNA BE ADORABLE.
Request some one shot ideas? Idk if I'm gonna open a book but.. Still request and that will help me :)
Please check out some of my other stories :) #ShamelessSelfPromo