"No, I'm telling you, next thing we know he'll be digging holes in his garden!"
"Jamie, he's a werewolf not a weredog!"
Stiles looked about done with his friend. A few days had passed since the Lacrosse game and they stood right in front of the school, waiting to Scott for make an appearance. The two friends were talking in hushed tones -- something that was becoming quite a habit these days -- but there was no doubt someone listening in on them would send them straight to Eichen House. Jamie was about to elaborate on his theory when he saw Scott approaching. He visibly perked up and his face held a mischievous expression.
"Hey Scott! How do you feel about dig-"
Jamie was interrupted by Stiles putting a hand in front of his mouth. The blue eyed teen's eyebrows went up but he frowned when he noticed the pained expression on Scott' face. Stiles had noticed too.
"Hey, buddy, what's wrong?"
"I think I attacked Allison last night."
The trio's mood darkened as soon as the words left Scott's mouth. The boy looked devastated to say the least but his wording somehow did not sit right with Jamie and Stiles.
"What do you mean you 'think' you attacked her?" Jamie asked inquisitively, putting Stiles' hand away.
"I don't know. I just woke up and I was sweating like crazy, I couldn't breathe. I've never had a dream where I woke up like that before," Scott confided. Jamie looked puzzled while Stiles looked sly.
"Really? I have. The dream usually ends a little differently..."
"Oh my God, Stiles!" Jamie exclaimed stepping away from Stiles, "I don't want to know about you in your bed! Now I have images in my head!" the teen shuddered, "That's just too much information..."
"Yes, please never do that again," Scott added.
"Noted."
"Let's get back on track, here," Jamie continued. "Tell me if I got it wrong, but you woke up this morning thinking you attacked Allison? And you're not sure if it actually happened or if it was just a dream?" His friend nodded, so he clapped his hands and resumed talking, "Well that's an easy solve, even Stiles here could get it! Let's go find the girl!"
Stiles looked at Jamie, bewildered. What had he done to deserve that? He just stood there and stared at the rude boy for an explanation. Jamie simply winked at him while Scott was still busy frowning.
"She's not answering my texts."
"It could be a coincidence, okay?" Stiles offered, "And I think I know what's going on, here. You're scared about your date with Allison tomorrow night, you're scared that you're going to lose control and end up brutally murder-"
Jamie got his revenge on Stiles -- it was his turn to prevent his friend from saying something potentially unnerving to Scott. Jamie was shaking his head, mock disappointment on his face while Stiles looked unimpressed. He was glaring at Jamie intently, silently ordering him to put his hand away from his mouth. Of course, Jamie did not comply.
"Scott, relax. Lydia just texted me, she's with Allison right now. Everything is fine!"
Although he was relieved to hear the news, Scott couldn't relax. Stiles, having regained the ability to speak, tried to offer solace to his wolf friend.
"Come on, Scott. It's gonna be fine. Alright? Personally I think you're handling this pretty freaking amazingly." He patted his friend's shoulder while Jamie nodded vigorously. "You know, it's not like there's a 'lycanthropy for beginners' class you can take."
"Maybe not a class, but there's a teacher," Jamie said, a plan forming in his head.
"Who, Derek?" Stiles asked in disbelief. Scott's expression changed from confusion to surprise, but he was interested to hear more.
"Jamie's right, Derek was in total control during the full moon, maybe he could help me!"
"Seriously, guys? Are you forgetting the part where we got him tossed in jail?" Stiles almost shouted, he couldn't believe his ears. This plan was much worse than the ones he usually came up with.
"Technically, Stiles, that was YOUR plan," Jamie countered with a devilish smile. "And maybe Scott can call upon some sort of wolf solidarity? Is that a thing?"
Before any of his friends could protest, Jamie held up his hands and resumed talking. This time, he was serious. "Look, I know you think Derek is suspicious and you're right, he has some shadowy things to explain but if you really think about it, everything he did was to try and keep the supernatural a secret. He told you Scott, repeatedly, that you could lose control, hurt innocents or be exposed as a werewolf in front of everyone. If anything, I think he'll be relieved to see you ask for help."
The teens took a moment to think. Stiles and Scott couldn't help but admit their friend had a valid point. Their little brainstorming session was interrupted by a loud announcement.
"Attention, students. This is your principal speaking. I know you're all wondering about the incident that occurred last night to one of our buses. While the police work to determine what happened, classes will proceed as scheduled."
Scott had paled significantly. He grabbed both of his friends by the arm before they could walk to class. The two boys turned to look at him.
"Guys, my dream happened in a bus."
"Oh shit," Jamie blurted out before quickly recovering, "I mean that could be a coincidence, right? A very big coincidence? You know what, I'll go check it out. You guys head out to class, the teachers are used to me being late anyway. Come on, off you go!"
Jamie shooed his friends away, determined to go investigate the bus incident. He headed to the parking lot but was soon stopped by police tape. The tape was positioned all around a school bus. Two officers stood inside the perimeter, taking notes and pictures. Jamie was inspecting the vehicle from afar, not daring to get closer and risk being seen, when a rather disturbing sight attracted his eyes.
The front door of the bus was badly damaged, as if someone had tried to tear it off. The blond teen squinted his eyes, focusing on the door handle -- something was wrong with it. It was red, that particular shade of red that resembled blood. Jamie froze in place. He didn't know what to do with the information, he knew Allison was fine but that left him with one question.
Whose blood was on the bus door?
Jamie shook his head, determined not to let the thought ruin his day. He and the others would find an explanation, hopefully one that did not involve murder or anything illegal. He headed to class and took a seat next to Stiles. The teens had chemistry with Mr. Harris, who was not especially fond of the trio. The man just sighed upon Jamie's arrival, not even bothering to scold him for being late -- he knew a lost cause when he saw one. Scott and Stiles where staring at their friend intently, waiting for him to describe what he saw. The second Mr. Harris looked away, Jamie started whispering.
"The bus is damaged and there's blood."
He knew this was not the subtlest way of presenting the facts but as Lydia often pointed out, Jamie was not subtle. Plus, he was trying to keep his explanation as short as possible to avoid getting a detention -- Mr. Harris was known to give them quite generously.
"Maybe it was my blood on the door," Scott whispered back, hope in his voice.
"Yeah. Could be animal blood too, maybe you caught a rabbit or something," Stiles offered. Jamie did his best not to roll his eyes while Scott looked disgusted.
"And did what?"
"Ate it," Stiles continued.
"Raw?"
"No, you stopped to cook it in a little werewolf oven!" Stiles answered, exasperated. "I don't know, you're the one who can't remember anything!"
"Mr. Stilinski, if that's your idea of a hushed whisper, you might want to pull the headphones out once in a while. I think you, Mr. McCall and Mr. Tate could all benefit from a little distance, yes?" the teacher interrupted their conversation in an ice-cold tone. He gestured for them to sit further away from one another. "Let me know if the separation anxiety becomes unbearable."
Begrudgingly, the teens complied. It was not long before the lecture was interrupted again but this time, the trio had nothing to do with it. Movement was seen outside the window. A police officer was running, seemingly coming from the parking lot. She was followed by two EMTs who were rolling a gurney. A man was laying on the gurney, barely moving -- he did not look well.
"That's not a rabbit..."
Scott's breath hitched, his heart sank in his chest. What had he done?