WITH A SIMPLE BLINK, her eyes flickered back to normal which restored Stiles' heart to its resting rate. He didn't want to freak her out that her eyes had now changed into two different colors, something Stiles never thought was possible. Deciding to keep the news to himself, he squeezed her hand and offered another smile. His mind was busy with activity, considering he was finally able to kiss the girl he loved for the first time.
Sierra returned the gesture brightly, not hiding how giddy she felt after what happened. The two didn't find it necessary to talk about the kiss, as it was obvious how they felt. They knew they'd have to talk about everything eventually, but right now they just enjoyed being with each other.
"I should probably finish sending that text to Jackson's dad," he told her and she tilted her head from the new information.
"You've been texting his parents?"
"Just to convince them that he's okay and they shouldn't worry," he shrugged; it wasn't really a big deal. If he didn't, they'd probably be freaking out and getting his father involved with the police.
However, Sierra knew better. There are some things about Jackson Whittemore that he just doesn't say or do like other kids. "Stiles, what exactly have you been saying?" she asked him worriedly, a crease forming on her forehead.
He raised an eyebrow, wondering what the big deal was. He showed her the phone and allowed her to read all the messages he had sent. "See? I didn't say anything bad."
Sierra's fingers froze as her eyes scanned over one he sent the night before. "Stiles?"
"Hmm?"
"Jackson doesn't say I love you," she stated clearly and Stiles scrunched up his nose, not fully understanding.
"What do you mean? It's his dad, how could he not say I love you?" He demanded, slightly beginning to freak out.
Sierra gave him back the phone and sighed, "Jackson was adopted, alright? Ever since he found out, he's never once said that he loved them."
"How long ago did he find out?"
"Eleven years ago," Sierra dead-panned and crossed her arms over her chest.
"Maybe it's not that bad," Stiles tried to stay optimistic. "Maybe they still don't know that anything's wrong."
"They know." A familiar voice caused the both of them to jump and once they turned their heads, they were relieved to see the dark-haired Argent with a scarf around her neck and a beanie on her head. "They know Jackson's missing!" she clarified and then explained that her grandfather said his parents went to the police. "They know."
Stiles' brown eyes widened as he looked at the cellphone in his right hand. He held up the device between his thumb and ring finger, starting to panic as he bounced on his heels. Realizing something else, he flung the device to Allison and quickly opened the passenger side door of the prison transport van to grab the police radio.
"All available units proceed to Beacon Hills Reserve as instructed," a deputy's voice stated clearly. "Proceed with caution until Sheriff Stilinski's arrival. Repeat: Proceed with caution."
The three of them exchanged panicked glances before they simultaneously all decided to pile into the front, with Stiles driving. Allison and Sierra were slightly squished, but that wasn't really a top concern of theirs. "Where are we going?" The brunette asked as Stiles rapidly texted something on Jackson's phone.
"Somewhere very far from this," he replied loudly as the phone started to dial. He tossed it outside into the leaves and hurriedly drove off.
*^*^*^
They headed to the east side, next to some of Beacon Hills' cliffs. There they met up with a very frustrated Scott, whose mom had said he would be held back if he didn't pass his midterms. With everything going on, he couldn't fail. Not just at school, but with Jackson and Allison...everything.
The four friends walked near the edge, a couple feet away of the van to talk. Scott hadn't been able to locate Danny's tablet, which held a video that Jackson was having his best friend restore as a favor. If Jackson couldn't even remember being the kanima, it wasn't possible that he'd remember stealing a tablet.
Stiles sighed from next to Sierra. "Why would he steal the thing if he doesn't even know what's on it?"
"Maybe someone else took it," Sierra suggested with her hands inside her black jacket. It was still winter in Beacon Hills, just without the snow, and it was a daily need for her to wear a coat.
"I really hope not," Stiles told her honestly, "because that could mean someone else knows what he is."
"But that could mean someone else is protecting him," Scott realized and looked at his friends with wide eyes.
Allison thought about the translation from the bestiary that she got from Morrell. "That actually makes sense," she commented with cinched brows. "It said that the kanima seeks a friend, right?"
They were all trying to figure the mystery out but little did they know, Jackson could hear every word from inside the van. "Somebody watches Jackson take a video of himself turning into the kanima and just erases part of it so he wouldn't know?" Stiles tried to follow their thought process, but none of it made sense. The pieces didn't fit together. "I mean, who would do that?"
"Somebody who wanted to protect him," Sierra stole Scott's idea from a minute ago but there was something else.
Scott turned to Stiles. "You said the only thing you found about the kanima was that it goes after murderers. What if that's actually true?"
"Then why try to kill us?" Sierra questioned, her nose scrunched up in thought. "We haven't murdered anyone lately...unless it was trying to protect us. Alli, you told me that when you were at Isaac's with Scott, it just ran right past you, right?"
Allison nodded, agreeing with everything her friend said. "You're right; it just ran off."
Sierra continued, the wheels in her brain turning. "Then at the mechanic's garage, it had an opportunity to kill Stiles and me- but it didn't."
"What about us with Derek at the pool?" Stiles spoke up. "Wasn't it trying to kill us then?"
"Was it?" Sierra asked him, her head slightly tilted. "I don't think it was waiting for us to come out, I think it was trying to keep us in."
All four of them looked around at each other from everything they figured out. "Why do I feel violated all of a sudden?" Stiles announced and Sierra chuckled from beside him.
"There's something else going on," she stated firmly, "but we don't know what it is. Everything going on with Jackson we're still clueless about, and why someone is protecting him-"
"Know thy enemy," Allison interrupted accidentally. Scott looked at her in confusion and she just slightly shook her head. "It was just something my grandfather said."
"I still say we kill Jackson," Stiles spoke up, not knowing the boy was still listening. "Problem solved." His friends looked at him in annoyance and he threw his arms up in defense.
"He risked his life for us, against Peter," Scott reminded him clearly. "Remember that?"
Stiles' gaze fell on the short girl beside him and he sighed, "Trust me, I remember. But what did we just find out? He got the bite from Derek; it's funny how he got exactly what he wanted by supposedly risking his life for us. It's funny."
"He's still worth saving," Sierra said to him seriously and grabbed his hand like she always did. "Look, I know he seems like someone who doesn't care about anything other than himself, but you have to remember that he's been through a lot, okay? He lost his parents, lost his position as team captain... Scott, how would you feel if someone just came in and took your starting position?"
Scott looked down at the brown leaves around his feet. "Not good," he replied quietly, knowing she was right.
"He doesn't know what he is doing," Sierra continued, referring to be being the kanima and hurting people. "Scott didn't know what he was doing when he was first bitten, right? Scott almost killed Allison and Jackson, remember? Not to mention, me and Stiles like five times. But Scott had someone to stop him; Jackson doesn't have anyone. It doesn't matter if you think that it's his fault because I know that there's a chance that he could be saved, and we need to take it."
*^*^*^*
That night they were still in the same area, not having a plan to bring into action. Scott and Allison were in her car, talking, while Sierra and Stiles sat in the leaves with their backs against the van. Earlier, they had left to check on Lydia and when they returned they weren't shocked to find Allison and Scott in the backseat. They had actually bet on it and Stiles now owed her five dollars and a movie night, not that he was complaining. Sierra moved so her head was laying on his shoulder and Stiles lifted his arm up to lazily drape it around her. He gently pecked her forehead as she snuggled up against him and released a content sigh. "I'm sleepy," she commented tiredly, her eyes fluttering shut.
He laid his head on top of hers and held her hand tightly. "I know; I am too." It was silent for a moment before he spoke up again. "About earlier, I-"
Sierra interrupted him quietly, "Shh, we can talk about it later."
"It is later," he slightly chuckled and shifted his body so he could look at her. "I want you to know that I don't regret it; I don't regret kissing you at all."
The dirty-blonde smiled softly and reached up her hand to trace the side of his face with her finger. "Well, if you really want to know, I don't regret it either."
"Really?"
She nodded her head slowly. "And if you wanted to do it again, I wouldn't have the slightest of objections." Stiles raised his eyebrows at her words but didn't waste time and leaned forward, once again pressing his lips against hers. It wasn't rushed or lustful; it was gentle and sweet as Sierra closed her eyes to kiss him back. Seconds later they both pulled away slowly and wide smiles were spread across their mouths.
However, before either of them could say anything a large bang went off and they scrambled to stand, immediately heading towards the back of the van. "Oh god," Sierra exclaimed with wide eyes as the doors were wide open with Jackson no where in sight.
Stiles gulped, "Go get Scott."
Sierra ran over to Allison's car and hit the window repeatedly so the couple would wake up. Scott squinted at the sight of his scared friend while Allison quickly covered herself with her jacket. Sierra sighed, "You guys might want to take a look at this." Once they saw the empty van, none of them really knew what to do.
"I have to tell my father," Allison decided as Scott took a couple of steps back. He was freaking out about what could happen to Jackson, or what Jackson could do to other people. "Scott?"
He slightly shook his head, knowing there wasn't really another option right now. "Fine," he stated. "Tell him; tell him everything." Stiles hated to make his best friend feel worse but he had to inform his father too. Sierra stayed quiet until Scott mumbled under his breath, "This is all my fault."
"No it's not," she disagreed, "but we have to tell them. We can't handle this on our own."
"You're right," Scott stated sadly and Sierra turned her head to Stiles.
"How are you going to make your dad believe all of this?"
Stiles shrugged and replied honestly, "I don't know." Scott faced them with his normal brown eyes now shining a bright gold.
"He'll believe me."
*^*^*^*^
Allison went home to finish translating five pages of Archaic Latin in the bestiary while Sierra joined Scott and Stiles in heading to the police station. The guy at the front desk buzzed them once Stiles explained he needed to talk with his father and they were going to head into his office but the sight of Jackson sitting comfortably on a couch caused them to freeze midstride.
Mr. Whittemore noticed their appearance from where he stood beside his adopted son and narrowed his eyes into a glare. Jackson smirked at the panicked expressions that covered Stiles' and Scott's faces, especially when the sheriff called their names. "Have you met Jackson's father?" he asked them. "Mr. David Whittemore; esquire."
Jackson's smirk grew, "That means lawyer."
For a while, Scott was locked in the office with Stiles and Sierra while Allison told them over the phone that Lydia had translated part of the bestiary; the kanima didn't seek a friend, it sought a master. Sheriff Stilinski was talking to Jackson's father in the hallway as his son was sent home, so they didn't have a lot of time. Jackson wouldn't know that someone was controlling him, which Stiles compared it to Lydia being in a fugue state when she had walked in the woods for two days, completely in the nude. "He'd have to forget everything," Sierra realized. "The actual murder...getting rid of the blood."
"Then there's that video," Stiles remembered Danny's tablet. "Someone helped him forget that."
"I can't believe that after all of this, Jackson still thinks he's becoming a werewolf," Sierra commented, slightly annoyed. "I mean, he blamed Lydia for delaying it, cause she was immune to the bite and the venom. We need to convince him that he's not."
"Especially since it will help us figure out who's controlling him," Scott agreed with a slight nod but they knew it wouldn't that easy to talk to their classmate. The situation only got harder as the sheriff sat them down in a room and started to read off requirements filed in a restraining order against Scott and Stiles. For some reason, Jackson didn't reveal that Sierra had had a big part too and that led her to stand by the door anxiously, watching as Stiles' dad stated that her friends had to stay at least fifty feet away from the lacrosse player at all times.
They were not to approach him, not allowed to even mumble a hello in his direction. Mrs. McCall stood next to Sierra, biting her thumbnail as she kept her eyes on her son while Mr. Whittemore was standing with one hand on his hip. Noah slammed the terms on the table, more than angry on what his son did. Then again, he didn't know the full story- none of them did. "What about school?" Stiles asked suddenly, well aware of the thick tension in the room.
Sierra sighed and rubbed her temple with her fingers, simultaneously praying that he wouldn't dig himself a deeper hole. "You can attend classes while attempting to maintain a fifty foot distance," his father replied sternly but like always, his son continued.
He came up with a situation that would never happen, and it caused Sierra to groan. He dug a deeper hole. "Well what if we both have to use the bathroom at the same time, and there's only two stalls available and they're right next to each other?" His father glared at him with his arms firmly crossed over his chest. Stiles glanced around the room, and once he saw Sierra shaking her head, he coughed and kept his eyes on the table. "Yeah, I'll just hold it."
After everything was official, the sheriff grabbed Stiles by the arm and yanked him out of the room. "Do I need to remind you how lucky we are that they're not pressing charges?" he questioned seriously.
Stiles sighed, coming up with another lie. "Oh come on," he slightly scoffed. "It was just a joke-"
"A joke?" Noah raised his eyebrows; he didn't find this situation the least bit funny.
"Yes," Stiles agreed to his story spastically. "I didn't think it would be taken seriously. Dad, humor is very subjective, okay? I'm talking like, multiple levels of interpretation here!"
"Uh huh," his father rolled his eyes. "Now how should I interpret a stolen prison transport van, huh? What about how Jemma hasn't seen her sister in over twenty-four hours because she's been running everywhere with you?"
"We filled the tank!" Stiles defended and then sighed again once he thought about Sierra. "She wasn't involved, okay? She had nothing to do with any of this."
"Well I called Jemma," Noah started but was interrupted by his son groaning.
"Dad, you didn't-"
"I did and she's on her way to pick her up right now."
*^*^*^*^
Sierra awkwardly followed Melissa out of the room, keeping her head low while Scott got an earful about having bizarre behavior, coming home late, and missing tests. "I missed a chemistry test?" Scott asked, which probably wasn't the best move. In his defense, he honestly had no idea about it. Then again, he was failing two classes. Melissa was more than annoyed now at her son and told him he was grounded, except for work and that he needed his computer for homework and the TV was broken...
The tired adult sighed and stopped walking to look up at him. "What is going on with you?" she asked, completely lost on to what has changed within him over the past few months. "Is this about Allison?" Stiles had joined Sierra's side and they watched as Scott's eyes flickered over to them before he focused on his mom.
"Do you really want to know?" he inquired, thinking deeply about telling her the truth. Stiles started shaking his head; now wasn't the time to divulge into the world of the supernatural. Sierra knew Melissa deserved the truth, but Stiles was right. It wasn't the right time.
"Is this about your father?" Melissa stopped him from saying anything and Scott stayed quiet. "It is, isn't it? Okay, um- you know what? We'll talk about this at home...I'm going to get the car." She took a step back from her son and turned on her heel, leaving Scott with sadness covering his face.
The three friends watched her leave and Sierra placed a comforting hand on the teen wolf's shoulder. "I'm the worst son ever," he declared to the both of them.
Stiles' eyes were locked on his father sitting inside the police conference room and he watched heavily as he was getting angrily yelled at by Mr. Whittemore. "Well, I'm not exactly winning any prizes either," he sighed in defeat which caused Sierra to follow his line of sight. She winced from seeing the man cuss out the sheriff and intertwined her fingers with Stiles' to help ease his conscience.
"Sierra!" A familiar voice called out and the girl turned her head in confusion. Jemma quickly made her way to her younger sister and pulled her into a tight hug. Sierra tried to understand why Jemma was here.
"Come on, we're going home," Jemma instructed, grabbing Sierra's elbow to pull her away.
Sierra stumbled a few steps before her brain caught up with the situation. She planted her feet and pulled her arm out of Jemma's grip. "There's no reason for me to go home with you," she stated. "I didn't do anything wrong."
Jemma let out a frustrated sigh. "At this point, I know that that isn't true," she replied, getting more worked up as she recalled her sister's behavior. "You didn't respond to any of my messages, even after you got home very late last night and left early this morning."
Her eyes fell on the boy with a buzz-cut standing behind her sibling and sharpened her tone. "Then I get a call from his father, saying he and Scott were getting a restraining order filed against them, and somehow you were with them when they arrived here. So, would you like to tell me what the hell were you doing. Then why, also in the hell, did it not cross your mind to tell me you were okay?!"
Sierra dropped her jaw in surprise at how angry her sister seemed. The sophomore was at a complete loss for words and struggled to even form one syllable.
Jemma inhaled deeply, not even bothering to wait for an excuse. "Sierra, what is going on with you?" she demanded.
Images of Scott's house from the previous evening flashed through Sierra's mind as she remembered flinging Isaac into the wall. Her blue eyes flickered down to her hands that still had cuts from her nails. Clearing her throat, Sierra shoved her fists into her jacket's pockets. "I, I can't tell you," she answered softly and Jemma's face fell, obviously not expecting that particular response.
"Why not?"
Sierra knew she couldn't tell Jemma anything. The adult couldn't relate to her best friends' lives being in danger. Or that Scott was a werewolf, and how she somehow received powers after getting scratched by a maniac alpha.
"You," Sierra started and Jemma raised her eyebrows expectantly, wanting her to go on. "You just wouldn't understand!" Sierra finished.
"I wouldn't understand?" Jemma echoed her sister's words, in complete disbelief. For years, she thought she had built a relationship with Sierra where they could be honest with one another. Now, the sophomore acted like she couldn't be trust.
Jemma straightened her back and set her lips in a hard line. "Fine," she shrugged, and made Sierra bit her lip at the action. "I might not be able to understand whatever the hell you're going through, but I'll be damned if you don't understand this: you're grounded."
"What?"
"You are grounded," Jemma repeated, crossing her arms. "No phone, no TV, and definitely no Stiles—"
"You can't ground me," Sierra interrupted harshly with her eyes narrowed. From behind her, Scott and Stiles exchanged concerned and nervous glances.
"Watch me."
"And exactly what gives you that power?" Sierra shot back, proving she could be just as stubborn as Jemma. She stepped forward, her hands curling into tight fists. "Because you're older than me? Because you think you know best, is that it?"
"I have the power because I am your legal guardian," Jemma snapped. "Which means if you do something reckless—which you have— it's my job to deliver the consequences."
The sheriff had stepped out from the noise, and noticed Scott and Stiles standing off to the side wearing frowns. He pulled his son's arm, and shot him a pointed look before Stiles could open his mouth. Stiles cast one more worried look at Sierra, before grabbing Scott and following his father to his office. Luckily, a lot of the officers had left for the night to leave the lobby empty.
It wasn't right for them to hear the sisters argue.
"You are not my mom, Jemma!" Sierra exploded, practically yelling. "You aren't! I have a mom and a dad. And I am so sick of you pretending that they don't exist!"
"Our parents are dead, Sierra!" Jemma shouted, the words piercing the stale air. Sierra's face fell and she took a step away from her sister. Jemma continued, And I'm sorry, but I can't do anything to bring them back. All I'm trying to do is make the best out of their wishes, which means taking care of you—"
Sierra shook her head, beyond hurt. "No, I don't want you taking care of me," she argued. "I don't need you taking care of me. I don't need you."
Jemma stifled a fake laugh, covering the way her insides twisted. "Is that how you really feel?"
Sierra didn't answer.
"Fine," Jemma declared, raising her hands. "You don't need me? That's fine. But you still live with me, which means you live with my rules. And because of your actions tonight, that means no phone and computer—and no late night with Stiles or Scot. You're grounded."
The bitterness from the argument rose once more as she finally stated, "And if you are so adamant about being independent, find your own way home. Because I'm done."
Sierra stood, completely shell-shocked, as Jemma turned around her heel. She stalked off, a deafening silence overcoming the station when she left altogether.
Noah opened the door, peeking his head through to see if Sierra was okay. He, and the two boys with him, heard Jemma's final words.
The girl didn't make an effort to move. Her lips were parted, and tears filled her blue eyes.
"Sierra?"
She finally blinked, swallowing hard when she looked up at the sheriff.
His face softened and he opened his door further. "Come on, dear," he offered kindly. "I have a little bit of paper work, but then I can take you and Scott both home."
Sierra slowly nodded, and dragged her feet towards him. Her mind spun, all of the words she said echoing around like a broken loop.
Never had she and Jemma fought that intensely—and she couldn't help but think of the repercussions that would follow because of it.
*^*^*^*^*^*
The next morning, Allison and Sierra walked into the library, on a mission that involved talking to the boys they were forbidden to see.
When Sierra finally arrived home last night, a note found lying on her pillow explicitly stated the details of her punishment. Her phone and laptop had been taken. She wasn't allowed to see Stiles or Scott—which meant that she had to ride the bus this morning, a horrible experience she never wanted to go through again. Jemma hadn't even offered to take her to school and wouldn't speak a word, causing Sierra's heart to be heavy with guilt.
Due to the new cameras installed by the Argents, the girls acted nonchalant and tried to seem like they were trying to locate a book for a class. Once they were out of the camera's sight in an aisle, Allison sneakily slid a tablet between two books where Scott grabbed it on the other side, next to Stiles who pretended a story. "It's everything Lydia could translate," Allison informed them in a whisper. "Trust me though when I say she was very confused."
"We had to lie and say we were part of an online gaming community that battles mythical creatures," Sierra stated with a slight laugh and Stiles looked at her through the shelf with a tilted head.
"But I was part of an online gaming community that battles mythical creatures," Stiles replied, confused as to why the idea was so amusing to her and the others.
"And there is nothing wrong with that," Sierra said slowly to make him feel better about his life choices and offered a small smile but once he nodded and turned away, gave Allison a weird look that made the Argent cover her mouth with her hand to hide her laughter. Scott brought everyone back on track by asking if anything they discovered explained how to figure out who is controlling Jackson.
Allison shook her head, "Not really, but Stiles was right about the murderers." The spastic boy pumped the air with his fist dramatically, happy he was once again correct. "It calls the kanima a weapon of vengeance. There's a story in there about the South American priest, who used the kanima to execute murderers in the village."
"So maybe it's not all that bad?" Stiles suggested but Allison pursed her lips and finished the story.
"Until the bond grew strong enough which allowed him to kill whoever he wanted it to," she grabbed a random book off the shelf, acting like she was interested in it while Sierra adjusted her backpack on her shoulder.
"All bad," Stiles concluded correctly. "All very, very bad."
"Here's the thing though, the kanima was actually supposed to be a werewolf," Sierra told them quietly and paused as a random girl grabbed a book in front of them. Once she was gone, she finished. "But it can't be until it resolves that in its past which manifested it."
Stiles quickly thought about what that could mean; Jackson could use a thousand hours of therapy, which he could've figured out on his own. Sierra rolled her eyes at his statement but remembered yesterday when she told Stiles about why he shouldn't have said I love you in the texts. "What if it has something to do with his parents?" she asked to no one in particular and they all looked at her. "His real parents."
"Does anyone know what actually happened to them?" Scott questioned and Sierra sighed.
"Lydia might," she answered. Since Allison wasn't included in the restraining order and Sierra wasn't comfortable talking to him, it was decided that the huntress would talk to Jackson if Lydia didn't know anything. Scott didn't know what to do about this, considering he had to make up an exam with Harris, and Allison made him promise that he would take it.
"If he does anything," Scott repeated himself, not loving the idea of his girlfriend being in danger.
"Like?"
"Anything," Scott struggled to find the right words, "weird, bizarre..."
Stiles popped his head between the opening and stated clearly, "Anything evil."
Allison rolled her eyes again and pushed his head back to the other side with her fingers, which caused him to almost fall in surprise and drop the book he was holding.
Allison left the library confident that she could talk to Jackson, and Scott waited ten minutes before he left as well. Sierra met with Stiles at the end of the aisle, as he was wondering why he wasn't allowed to take her to school that morning. "By the time I went outside, Jemma's car was gone and all of the lights were off," he explained, keeping his voice low.
"For some reason I'm not supposed to talk to you for a week," Sierra informed him, frustrated at her older sister. "Which doesn't even make any sense if you ask me."
"You're talking to me now though," Stiles commented with furrowed brows, slightly confused. Sierra raised her eyebrows and tilted her head.
"I'm sorry, do you want me to ignore you for seven days straight?" she asked him sassily with a pointed look. He immediately shook his head and she nodded. "That's what I thought."
"It's not like she can follow you around all day to make sure you don't talk to me," Stiles told her, grabbing her hand that was resting against her pant leg. "Did she think you would actually listen to her when you got to school?"
"Honestly I don't know what she was thinking," Sierra replied in annoyance but then let out another sigh. "But I do know I owe her an apology for what I said. I was just mad and frustrated because of what Jackson did to you and Scott and I took it out on her." He rubbed his thumb over the back of her hand as a soothing gesture and just started to smile while he watched her tiredly run a hand through her wavy hair. She caught him staring and found herself falling for him even harder at the sight. "Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, feeling her cheeks heat up in embarrassment.
Stiles shrugged and bit down on his lip to hide his extending grin. "You're too beautiful not to stare at," he stated and that caused her blush to deepen to the color of a rose. He squeezed her hand, "We should probably find Lydia; we have to ask her about Jackson's parents."
Sierra inhaled deeply and nodded her head. "I know, but why do I have a feeling that it's going to be hard to get her to talk to us?"