"Thanks for giving me an extension. I promise to turn something in soon," Hollis said, readjusting the strap of her bag.
"Just don't wait too long, Hollis. I'm already making an exception for you," Mrs. Carrillo said and uncrossed her arms.
With a nod, she took a step back and entered the hallway. As always, it was packed with students going to their lockers, walking with friends and doing everything and anything possible to make it difficult to maneuver through. Hollis made it around the corner, catching sight of Jackson just as another figure walked away. Curious, she stopped beside him but her eyes trailed after the mystery visitor.
"What was that about?" Hollis questioned.
"Nothing. Don't worry about," Jackson said with his usual tone.
Rolling her eyes, she sighed. "Right, I forgot. Having a conversation with you is impossible."
He looked at her, the glare evident in his eyes. The set of his jaw suggested that he wanted to respond but, after a second, his gaze softened and he shook his head. "Sorry," he said, surprising them both.
A smile tugged at her lips and she laughed. "Did you just apologize?"
"Shut up, Hollis," he said although a faint smile showed on his face. He leaned against the locker, looking in the direction the other person went in. "But it was some tweaker looking for McCall. Whatever he's using, that guy looks like crap."
"Scott's not on drugs," she stated.
"Well, he's using something. How else can you explain that he's better at lacrosse?"
"I don't know, practice and hard work?" Hollis suggested, only to get a scowl from Jackson.
"And bowling? He started out horrible and then kept getting strikes the entire night."
She tilted her head. "Jackson, I'm pretty sure it's impossible to cheat at bowling. And lacrosse. Whatever it is, it's not drugs." The answer didn't seem to satisfy him because his scowl deepened. Ignoring his attitude, Hollis looked past him. "But I'm pretty sure that 'tweaker' was Derek Hale. Why would he be here, though?" She asked, more to herself than to him.
Jackson shrugged in a way that let her know he didn't know or care. "No idea."
Hollis fought the urge to roll her eyes at him. "Anyway, as usual, it was great talking to you," she said sarcastically.
She moved away from him and turned down the corner. Her eyes searched the many students that occupied the small space but she was unable to see where Derek had gone...if it had been him in the first place. After a quick search, she gave up and turned towards the stairs. At the sight of Lydia and Allison, she quickened her pace but once she reached them, she missed the first step and stumbled before grabbing hold of the railing.
"Watch your step," Lydia said at the same time that Allison asked, "Are you ok?"
Hollis laughed and nodded. "Yeah. I kinda didn't see that." She straightened her bag then turned to her friends with a smile. "So, what are we talking about?"
"Allison's study date with Scott this afternoon," Lydia said. "But we all know that just studying never ends with just studying. It's like getting into a hot tub. Somebody eventually cops a feel."
Hollis rolled her eyes while Allison's cheeks flamed up in a blush.
"So, what are you saying?" Allison asked, trying and failing to keep the embarrassment out of her voice.
"I'm saying make sure he covers up," Lydia stated. When Allison looked confused, she sighed. "Hello, Snow White! I'm talking about a condom."
"Lyd, isn't it a bit too soon?" Hollis asked.
"Are you kidding? After one date?" Allison questioned, equally as surprised as Hollis.
"Well, don't be total prudes, you two," Lydia said with a shake of her head. "I didn't wait with Jackson. Allison, you have to give him a little taste."
Unsure, Allison looked from Hollis to Lydia. Although the pink in her cheeks had subsided, she still looked nervous. Uncomfortable. "How much is a little taste?"
"Oh God. You really like him, don't you?" Lydia asked, sighing.
Hollis smiled and nudged Lydia. "Come on, you know you're happy for her," she said, to which Lydia remained silent although a small smile did stretch across her lips.
With a dreamy look, Allison shrugged. "Well, there's just something different about him. When I first got here I had this plan: no boyfriends until college. I move too often. But when I met him, he was different. I can't explain it."
"I can. It's your brain flooding with phenylethylamine," Lydia said, matter-of-factly.
"What?" Allison asked, looking towards Hollis for a definition.
"I think what Lydia's trying to say is that you're in love," she said. When Allison's blush and dreamy look returned, she laughed and linked arms with her. "Aw, I'm sorry, am I embarrassing you?"
Allison rolled her eyes but the corners of her mouth turned up in a smile.
"I'll tell you what to do. When's he coming over?" Lydia asked, breaking through their conversation.
"Right after school," Allison answered to which Lydia nodded, as if that was all she needed to hear.
With Lydia chatting away, the three girls made their way down the hallway. Most of what she was saying didn't reach Hollis since the chatter around them was loud, as was to be expected with students gathering their stuff and talking about after school plans with friends. She looked towards Allison, who nodded to show she was listening but her expression stated that she was lost with whatever it was that Lydia was suggesting. She fought the urge to laugh or make a comment and instead pretended that she was listening as well. When her locker came into view, Hollis left their side after stating that she would see them later. Only Allison seemed to notice her absence, because she looked over her shoulder at Hollis.
By the time Hollis gathered her books from her locker and made it out the double doors into the bright afternoon sun, most of the parking lot was free of cars. But where the spaces were empty, the road wasn't; it was full of idling cars, beeping in aggression to the traffic jam ahead. She eyed the long line of cars waiting to exit the parking lot then looked to her own car, which was directly behind the dozens of cars lined up to leave the school. It seemed that her only choice was to wait it out.
"Great," she thought with a sigh as she threw her bag into the car. Closing the door, her eyes traveled to what seemed like the beginning of the congestion. It was unusual for there to be traffic in the parking lot ,and she wondered what could have caused it. In the end, curiosity won and Hollis moved away from her car.
She took a few steps before she spotted the blue Jeep at the front of the line. The drivers' side door was open with Stiles and Scott standing by the car. When she neared them, she could make out the end of their conversation.
"Get him out of here," Scott said, eyes flashing to the Jeep and back.
"I hate you for this," Stiles mumbled, displeased about something.
"You two realize that you're stopping traffic, right?" Hollis asked, gesturing towards the line of cars whose beeping turned persistent. Her eyes traveled to the Jeep, which seemed to be working just fine. She looked through the open door and to the passenger side seat, which was occupied by Derek Hale. "What's going on?"
"Uh, nothing. Every-everything's fine," Stiles stammered. "Right, Scott?
Hollis looked towards Scott, who just nodded along. "Yeah, yeah. Nothing interesting here."
Crossing her arms, she nodded towards Derek. "Is he ok? Because he looks really sick."
"He's fine. I mean not...fine," Stiles said. "He, uh, he has the flu I think. Or was it a bug that's going around?" He turned to Scott and gave him a look, urging him to talk.
"Stomach bug, I think," Scott answered. "We're taking him to the doctor. Now."
"Ok..." Hollis said slowly, narrowing her eyes. "So, if he's sick, why did he come all the way here looking for Scott rather than go to the doctor by himself?"
"You do know that he can hear, right?" Derek said, his weak voice carrying from the car and to their ears.
Hollis smiled sympathetically towards him and nodded, although he wasn't looking their way. She turned towards the two boys and tilted her head, waiting for them to talk.
"Right. He was...." Stiles started.
"He doesn't have insurance," Scott interrupted, nodding. "So, my mom's a nurse at the hospital, and he wants me to see if she can help him." He finished the sentence, which sounded more like a question than anything else.
"Yeah, that's it," Stiles said. A smile lit up his face and he nodded enthusiastically.
"And you're going with him, right? To the hospital, I mean," Hollis said and looked towards Scott. When he nodded, she continued. "Would that be before or after your study date with Allison?"
Wide-eyed, he looked from her to Stiles. "Uh, after. Stiles is going with him now, and I'll check on him...later."
Hollis stood quietly. She knew there was something they weren't telling her but didn't know their reasoning behind it. Although she wanted to ask for the truth, the angry students in cars made her think that now wasn't the time for a full Q&A session. With a quick look towards Derek, who seemed to be getting worse by the minute, she sighed. "Ok, well, do you want me to go with you? I can help."
"No!" Stiles shouted, surprising them both. "I meant, thanks but...no," he said with a small smile. "I don't want you to get the flu from him."
"I thought it was a stomach bug," Hollis said, narrowing her eyes.
"Yes! It is. I forgot."
"So, you're not worried that you'll get sick?"
Stiles shook his head. "Nope. I'm immune to it."
"Immune to a stomach bug?" Hollis looked at the two standing before her and briefly to Derek. "Can you guys just tell me the truth? What's going on?"
The two boys exchanged a look before Scott spoke up. "That's...it's the truth. Right, Stiles?"
Hollis looked towards him, half expecting him to tell her something else but all she got from him was a nod to confirm Scott's words. Regardless of the frown that she now wore, she nodded. "Alright. I'll talk to you later I guess." With that, she moved away from them and back towards her car. She looked back momentarily to see them talking before Stiles got into the Jeep. Shaking her head, she looked away before seeing Allison get out from her car.
"Is everything ok?" Allison asked, looking towards where the Jeep still stood.
Hollis rolled her eyes but forced a smile onto her face. "Yeah, I think so."
"Are you ok?" Allison asked gently.
"Yeah, yeah, I'm ok. Have fun studying," she said.
Once she neared her car, the line behind her started to move along although there were still beeps of anger at the cars that moved too slowly. She clicked her seatbelt into place and started the engine, which protested the first couple of tries. Once she pulled out of the spot, her car stalled a few times as she drove through the lot.
"Come on, don't do this to me again," Hollis said, to which the car replied with another short stall. As she turned onto the main road, the stalling had ceased and the car worked normally for the rest of the drive.
AN: Happy Friday, everyone! Hope everyone had an awesome week. Here are two more chapters for you guys :) Please let me know what you think by leaving tons of comments with what you liked, thoughts, etc. I'm really happy to see so many people reading Touched by the Fear so don't hesitate to leave some love. If you guys want to make my Friday even better, don't forget to vote and share the story <3