Lacrosse practice was over. Scott had gone to the locker room to change, intrigued not to see Stiles around. Maybe he had left already? Scott decided to stop worrying and to relish what had just happened. Finally, he had made first line! He had seen Allison cheering for him from the bleachers.
As he put his equipment in his sport bag, he thought back to what had happened while he was working the day before. It was getting late; he was about to close the veterinary clinic when someone knocked frantically at the door. It was Allison, she had hit a dog while driving. She was in a state of panic, crying and drenched from the rain. Although she was distraught from the incidence, she still had had the presence of mind to retrieve the dog from the road, putting the frightened animal in the trunk of her car before driving straight to the clinic. Scott had welcomed her inside, and had treated the injured dog -- to his and Allison's relief, it was nothing too serious. The teens had talked, Scott even lending her one of his shirts so she could warm up.
The conversation had ended on a note that had made Scott particularly happy: Allison had agreed to go to Lydia's party with him. As it turned out, her telling Lydia and Jamie that Friday night was Family night had been a lie. She had been scared to go to a party alone when she barely knew anyone that attended, as she told Scott.
The lacrosse player exited the locker room. He had a spring to his step, and his face was illuminated by a grin. He joined his friends and Allison next to the bleachers. They all congratulated him for making first line, and he happily accepted the praise. Still basking in glee, Scott missed the expression on Jamie's face. It was one of slight wariness. He was carefully observing his friend, looking for anything out of place. Of course, he was happy for him, but as it had become a habit over the few last days he couldn't help but wonder where his new abilities came from.
Jamie forced a smile on his face as he prepared himself to leave. He was supposed to be at the hospital half an hour later and although he didn't mind being late to class, he was more careful when it came to his position at the hospital's reception -- he was actually needed there. He said his goodbye to his friends, promising Lydia he would help her set up for the party as soon as he was done with work, and left the school.
He drove to the hospital, a place he was slowly warming up to. He used to hate hospitals, as a lot of people do, but by working there he had learn to view the place in a new light. In his eyes, it was a place where people cared for each other. He held the hospital's workers in high esteem; these were people willing to help complete strangers, who would spend countless hours tending to patients. Jamie wanted to be a part of this, which is why he had applied to the job. He had been working there for about a year now, and the medical personnel had quickly taken a liking to the young man. He was a diligent worker, and he paid attention to detail. He was also eager to learn, taking in information like a sponge.
As he entered the building, he came face-to-face Scott's mother Melissa. She was wearing her usual pink scrubs, her dark curly hair in a ponytail. She smiled as she saw Jamie, her kind brown eyes meeting his blue ones as she nodded in greeting. She seemed in a hurry so he did not attempt to start a conversation. He joined his small desk instead, taking his jacket off and placing it on the chair behind him. He logged in on the computer and checked what needed to be done for the day. He started working, managing appointments and occasionally answering the phone. When he was working here, his mind was focused, unlike at school where countless thoughts would randomly pop up in his head, distracting him from whatever he was supposed to be paying attention to.
About two hours later, a light knocking on the front desk brought his eyes away from his computer. Melissa was standing there, two cups of coffee in her hands. She smiled, setting both cups on the desk.
"I needed a break, and I figured you could use one too," she said softly. Jamie got up, his knees cracking, and walk around the desk to meet Melissa on the other side.
"Oh thank you so much!" he said, stretching.
He then eagerly took the coffee, stirring it so it would cool down. Melissa drank from her cup, noticing the dark circles around Jamie's eyes. She had seen similar ones on her son's face. It made her wonder what the boys had been up to, although they had her trust, she couldn't help but deeply care for them. She was about to voice her concern when Jamie spoke, a sly smile on his face.
"So, has Scott told you about the new girl?" he asked, his eyes sparkling with mischief.
"No he hasn't!" Melissa answered, smiling at the teen's expression. "Should he have?"
"Well apparently he's going to Lydia's party with her later tonight..." Jamie explained, before taking a sip from his coffee -- it had finally reached a temperature suitable for drinking.
"Oh really! Well, young man, I'll be sure to ask him about her, then," the nurse exclaimed, her eyebrows rising slightly as she spoke. As much as she would have loved learning more, her coffee was now finished and she had patients to tend to. So, she gently squeezed Jamie's shoulder, "Thank you for that, I'll see you later."
"No problem," Jamie smiled, "And thanks again for the coffee!"
Melissa waved her arm in dismissal, it was nothing. She enjoyed the teen's company, in her opinion, Scott was happy to have him and Stiles as his friends. The three were inseparable. She had been scared they would drift apart after Jamie lost his family eight years ago, but more than anything, the ordeal had brought them closer. The same thing had happened after Stiles lost his mother. The way they were always here for each other warmed Melissa's heart.
As she disappeared down a corridor, Jamie quickly finished his coffee and returned to his desk. Before getting back to work, he took a glance at his phone, checking for messages. As soon as the screen lit up, he did a double take on what was displayed. He had fourteen missed calls, all of them from Stiles. He decided to call his friend back, figuring it was important. Stiles answered almost immediately.
"Finally! I've been trying to reach you for hours!" Stiles exclaimed, sounding relieved.
"Yeah, I saw that. Sorry I didn't answer, I'm at work," Jamie apologized. "What's the matter?"
"You know yesterday, I told you that I would do some research to figure out what's happening to Scott?" Stiles explained rapidly, "Well I did it, and you're not gonna believe what I found!"
Stiles didn't wait for his friend to answer as he launched himself in an unnecessarily complicated explanation, "I've been reading on lycanthropy, websites, books, all kinds of stuff, and I think I found something. I called Scott, he's coming to my place soon, and he needs to cancel the date."
"What? Stiles, slow down, what does any of this have to do with Allison?" Jamie was befuddled by his friend's words.
"She's a trigger, Jamie! Just like anger, on the lacrosse field!" Stiles kept going, losing Jamie completely.
"Listen Stiles, I trust you, okay? But right now I need to focus on work, will you be okay dealing with this on your own for now?"
"Yeah, sure," Stiles sighed, "Scott should be here any minute anyway."
"Okay, I'll see you at the party then," Jamie said before hanging up. He rubbed his eyes, still confused. Stiles sounded even more hyper than usual, he had probably taken more Adderall than he should have. However, he seemed convinced that Scott was a werewolf. Pushing the matter out of his head for now, Jamie dedicated himself to his work. This time he left his phone on his desk, just in case.
As Jamie dove into his work again, Scott had just reached Stiles' house. He went in and reached his hyperactive friend's room. He knocked and Stiles let him in immediately, closing the door shut with erratic gestures.
"Get in. You have to see this," Stiles started. "I've been doing this research, to find out what's happening to you..."
"Is this about the body? Did they found out who did it?" Scott interrupted, letting his bag fall on the bed and sitting next to it.
"No, they're still questioning people. Even Derek Hale," Stiles answered, speaking even faster than before.
"Oh yeah, the guy in the woods."
"Yes, but that's not it, okay?" Stiles pressed on, "Remember the joke from the other day? Not a joke anymore." Scott shook his head, not following so Stiles kept on explaining. "The wolf, the bite in the woods. I started doing all this reading... Do you even know why a wolf howls?" Stiles asked, getting up, "It's a signal. Okay, when a wolf's alone, it howls to signal its location to the rest of the pack. So if you heard a wolf howling that means others could have been nearby, even maybe a whole pack of them."
"A whole pack of wolves?" Scott inquired.
"No, werewolves," Stiles answered, serious. This time, he was not joking, he truly believed his friend had been bitten by a werewolf and that he was turning into one. Scott, however, did not seem at all convinced.
"Are you seriously wasting my time with this? You know I'm picking up Allison in an hour!" Scott exclaimed, getting up. Stiles stopped him by putting a hand on his chest.
"I saw you on the field today, Scott. What you did was not just amazing, it was impossible."
"Yeah, so I made a good shot," Scott answered, unsmiling. Stiles was starting to get on his nerves.
"No, Scott, you made an incredible shot! I mean, the way you moved, your speed, your reflexes!" Stiles was pacing as he spoke, "People can't suddenly just do that overnight! And then there's the vision, the senses, and don't even think that I didn't notice you don't need your inhaler anymore!"
"Hey! I can't think about this now!" Scott interrupted, his voice cold, "We'll talk tomorrow."
Scott grabbed his backpack, ready to leave, but Stiles wouldn't let him.
"Tomorrow? What? No! The full moon's tonight, don't you get it?"
"What are you trying to do?" Scott was now full on yelling, clearly mad at his friend, "I just made first line, I have a date with a girl who I can't believe wants to go out with me, everything in my life is somehow perfect. Why are you trying to ruin it?"
"I'm trying to help." Stiles sat at his desk, looking at all the papers he had printed for his research before turning his gaze back to his friend. "You're cursed, Scott. And you know, it's not just that the moon will cause you to physically change, it will also happen to be when your bloodlust will be at its peak."
"Bloodlust?" Scott seemed to be just barely holding in his anger.
"Yeah, your urge to kill."
"I'm already starting to feel an urge to kill, Stiles."
"Wait, you've got to read this," Stiles shuffled through his papers again, retrieving a book. He started reading from it, "'The change can be caused by anything that raises the pulse.' Alright? I haven't seen anything that raises your pulse like Allison does." He then stood up abruptly, grabbing Scott's backpack and searching it for his phone, "You've got to cancel this date. I'm gonna call her right now."
Stiles found the phone, he was about to dial Allison's number when Scott lost his temper.
"No, give it to me!" the teen yelled. He grabbed Stiles by the collar and shoved him against the wall. His fist raised, he was about to punch his friend. He froze, before turning around and overturning a chair. He let out a growl and grabbed the sides of his head. His breath was heavy. He turned back to face Stiles. His expression suddenly changed, he looked down at the overturned chair then back at his friend. Stiles was terrified, not daring to look at him. Scott calmed down, a regretful expression on his face.
"I'm sorry." He backed away from Stiles. "I... I gotta go get ready for that... party," Scott stammered, picking up his bag. He left the room, leaving a shocked Stiles alone in his house.
As soon as Scott left, Stiles banged the back of his head against the wall. He had failed. Scott was going to go on that date. Allison could be in danger, especially if he behaved as violently as he just did. Stiles gathered his spirits and put the chair back in its place.
That's when he noticed claw marks on the leather.