Once Scott had regained his senses, the group of teens had come up with a very elaborate plan to both keep Allison safe at all times and make sure Peter would end up behind bars -- it did take expert convincing on Lydia's part to get Jamie to agree to that last bit of the plan, but Peter had committed serious crimes and needed to face justice. Now, the strawberry-blonde girl was playing her part, as it was her turn to make sure Allison was not alone. She had taken it upon herself to knock on Allison's door and had invited herself inside.
The first few minutes had been slightly awkward since Allison was busy with homework, but Lydia soon found the perfect pretext to get Allison to agree to her presence at her side. She was idly browsing through Allison's clothes, out of habit more than anything, when her mind came up with a solution that would also get them to go out and enjoy the nice weather: the formal was tonight and if Lydia had learned anything while searching through her friend's clothes, it was that Allison was in dire need of a new dress.
"Come on!" Lydia smiled, tugging at Allison's sleeve to try and convince her to give up on her homework, "We need to go dress-hunting!"
Allison was having a hard time fighting the smile that threatened to form on her lips at Lydia's choice of words, and Lydia noticed. Giving up, the raven-haired girl closed her chemistry book shut and turned to her friend.
"Okay, you win!" she laughed, "I guess hunting is kind of my thing now..."
It wasn't long before the girls were inside Macy's, busy gathering potential dresses for Allison and talking. It had been a while since their last actual conversation and Lydia was thankful for an afternoon free of drama, up until she saw the silhouette of a man she had no desire to see. Peter Hale was here, and his gaze was on Allison.
Immediately, Lydia took action. She picked a dress at random and grabbed Allison's arm, leading her surprised friend away from the alpha. She pointedly ignored Allison's questions as she paid for the dress and exited the store, glancing over her shoulder every now and then in search of the menacing silhouette she knew was following them. In her almost panicked state, Lydia remained capable of logical thinking and so she took her friend to the one place Peter wouldn't follow them: the Argent House.
Unless he was suicidal, there was little chance the alpha would willingly set foot inside a house full of hunters. The girl even came up with a convoluted explanation as to why they had to leave the store, phrasing it in such a ridiculously complicated way that Allison didn't feel like asking for details. All things considered, Lydia was quite proud of herself for handling the situation so well. Plus, the dress she had randomly picked was actually a great fit.
She was not exactly a fan of the next phase of their plan, however, since it involved Jackson. After some (very forceful) convincing, Scott had gotten him to agree to take Allison to the formal -- as friends. Scott had basically scared Jackson out of his own mind and he had agreed to their plan the second Scott had wolfed out in front of him. Lydia had no doubt that from now on, the Lacrosse captain's nightmares would never fail to include at least one wolfed-out Scott.
The girls got ready for the formal at Allison's house, both rather excited at the prospect of spending a night partying. Lydia did her best to hide how apprehensive she was of the event and how fearful for Allison's life and their owns the supernatural world was making her. She did a good job of hiding it and when she drove to the school, Allison was none the wiser. One thing did make Allison feel somewhat embarrassed, and that was the fact that they were going to be late to the formal. When she shared her concerns with Lydia, the only answer she received was a good-hearted laugh and a wave of hand.
"Relax, waiting five minutes won't kill Jackson!" Lydia brushed off. "And it's not like Jamie's going to be on time either."
Allison really wanted to say that they weren't five minutes late, more like thirty, but she knew better than to argue with her friend. When they finally arrived, Allison was quick to reach the large doors, next to which was standing Jackson. Even from afar, she could tell he was tense. His jaw was clenched and his arms were crossed over his chest, a clear sign of impatience. The wait might not have killed him, but it had done nothing to put him in a good mood. The fact that he could feel Scott watching him like a hawk also didn't help, but Allison didn't know that.
When the tall girl made her way over to him, he visibly relaxed and offered her a smile so big Allison was afraid his cheeks wouldn't survive it. She figured his discomfort came from the fact that Lydia had just joined them and that these two were not exactly on good terms, although it didn't prevent Lydia from attempting to be friendly.
"You look..." Lydia started, feeling like she needed to compliment Jackson somehow but coming up empty, "...handsome?"
"Obviously," Jackson scoffed, "It's Hugo Boss."
Extending his arm to Allison, which she gracefully took, Jackson made his entrance inside the vast gym that had undergone a spectacular transformation to host the formal dance. Lydia didn't follow and was left quite feeling dejected, all alone in front the building with no one to talk to.
"So, if Jackson is handsome, I wonder what that makes me," a voice told her.
She didn't need to turn on her heels to know who had just spoken, nor to know what to answer.
"Dashing, of course," she answered immediately, a big smile forming on her face.
"Why, thank you," Jamie replied as he came to a stop next to her and placed a hand at the small of her back. "You look quite stunning yourself."
"Thanks. And for the record, I said that Jackson looks handsome, not that he is handsome," Lydia explained with a sly grin, making Jamie laugh.
"As they say, the devil is in the details!" he chuckled and brought her against his side.
"Are you saying I'm evil?" Lydia asked, looking up at him.
"Depends, would you take it as a compliment?"
"Of course," she nodded.
"Then yeah, I'm definitely calling you evil."
And with that, they made their way inside. They had barely set foot into the room that Scott and Stiles dragged them to a dark corner of the gym, anxiously looking around the whole way. Lydia was about to question their sanity when she remembered that Scott wasn't supposed to be there and for his sake, she hoped Coach didn't see him. However, she did have the intention of enjoying the night, and that did not go very well with lurking in a dark corner of the gym, spying on Allison from afar. She made her intentions clear to everybody when, not even a minute after the boys had started talking, she grabbed Jamie's forearm and lead him to the dance floor.
The place was crowded and numerous students greeted her, none of them getting more in the way of an answer than a slight nod of her head. She was here to enjoy the company of one person only, and he was standing right in front of her. The music was upbeat but they barely heard it, too entranced by each other's presence to bother following the rhythm.
They were hiding in the crowd, simply swaying in what, from afar, looked like a heartfelt hug. Lydia's face was buried in the crook of Jamie's neck, her eyes closed. She basked into his familiar scent of coffee and wood, relishing the feeling of his arms around her and that kept her close against his chest. Her troubles didn't exist in this realm and she wished to remain there forever.
She had no idea how much time had passed when a loud cry was heard, bringing herself and Jamie to freeze. The voice of a man could be heard throughout the gym, vociferating threats at a student they knew all too well. It seemed Coach had spotted Scott.
"McCall! I see you! Come here, buddy!" the man yelled, ruining the moment for everyone around. "Come here, McCall! It's a small gym, I'm gonna find you!"
Coach didn't seem to hear the collective groan his presence brought. A winning smile instead graced his lips and although seeing Coach look so happy was a rare sight, Scott barely took note of it -- he was too busy looking for a way out this rather dire situation. Watching Danny enjoy the atmosphere with his date gave him the perfect idea to get Coach off his back.
Quickly, he grabbed Stiles' shoulder and yanked him toward him in a swift motion, then placed his hands on his best friend's shoulders. Although mightily confused by the situation, Stiles' quick mind allowed him to understand Scott's plan. Thinking that he had rarely found himself in a such a situation, he mimicked Scott's actions and they awkwardly started dancing.
"McCall!" Coach bellowed again, now standing right in front of Scott, "You're not supposed to..."
Coach's voice trailed off as he stared at the scene in front of him. Scott and Stiles, dancing together in a fashion that made them look like they were on a date. Confusion washed over him, for he had never suspected these two to be an item.
"What the hell are you do... What the hell are you doing?" he stammered, loud as ever.
"Yes, Coach?" Scott asked as innocently as he could.
Only then did Coach realize how bad the situation made him look. The students were glaring at him and he soon found himself standing in the middle of a circle in the crowd, the kids seeming to want either a very good explanation of one hell of an apology.
"Okay, hold on, you..." Coach stammered again, letting out a laugh so fake it was painful to hear. "I was just saying he's not supposed to, I mean, I wasn't saying that he shouldn't date... Just dance, everybody. Just dance! It's a party!"
Throwing one last bitter look at Scott, Coach gave up and walked away. It was a small win for Scott but at this point he would gladly take it. He was so busy relishing the glorious feeling of victory that he forgot to let go of Stiles, which had the consequence of greatly puzzling Jamie and Lydia once they joined the pair. They didn't have much time to discuss it because as soon as Lydia had opened her mouth to ask the question she was dying to ask, she saw Jackson running outside the hall, leaving Allison behind. Instantly, the team split up. Scott, of course, went over to Allison, with Stiles staying behind to keep an eye on the crowd, while Jamie and Lydia followed Jackson outside.
"I hope he doesn't do anything stupid..." Lydia thought out loud.
"It's Jackson, of course he's gonna do something stupid," Jamie scoffed.
When the couple reached the Lacrosse field, the place was eerily dark. Jackson was nowhere in sight and only the distant sounds of the party could be heard. Reflexively, Jamie grabbed Lydia's hand and brought her closer to him. He had a bad feeling about the situation and wanted nothing more than to head back inside, where it was warm and safe.
Suddenly, he was blinded by a bright light. Squeezing Lydia's hand a little harder, he forced his eyes to open again, only to witness the fields lights turning on, one by one. The fog that rose from the damp grass caught the light as it slowly moved with the cold breeze, making goosebumps trail along Jamie's arms. His head was turning left and right, searching for the threat he instinctively knew lurked somewhere behind the white veil of the fog. As his eyes caught movement, he hated that his instincts were right.
The dark silhouette of a man appeared through the fog, his features hidden in the shadows as his back faced the lights. He was walking ever so slowly, savoring each step that took him closer to his next victims. Any other killer would have hurried, out of fear their prey would get away, but not this one -- no one had ever escaped him, and no one ever would. He turned his head and took a sharp inhale, tasting the teen's fear and just for a second, bringing his face into the light. His blue eyes seemed to glimmer before they turned blood red.
Peter Hale had joined the party. A cruel grin deformed his lips before he lunged at Jamie.