Chapter 18 ✧Some Plan✧
“Yes?” I answer my phone as I sat up in my bed. I was eager to be able to talk to someone who wasn’t Kira, Stiles, or Scott since they were currently hatching up some fairly idiotic plan.
“Charlotte,” Derek’s slightly gruff voice said through the phone. I found myself sitting up some, now a lot more attentive once I realized who was on the other end of the call. “Do you think you could do me a favor?” He asked in a low voice, almost like he was whispering. Why on earth was he whispering?
Or, more importantly, what kind of favor would Derek Hale come to me for? I had just about no tricks up my sleeves besides the ability to have random anxiety attacks.
“Um, I-I think so?” I questioned more than answered. This was quite a peculiar situation for me.
“I left my jacket in the hospital when I was there before, do you think you could get it for me? It should be in Braeden’s room” Derek asked in an oddly nice tone. I actually almost laugh. Derek Hale, the bad ass ex-alpha, was asking me to retrieve his jacket for him.
“Derek, I’ve lived with you before,” I reminded him, “I know you have more the one leather jacket.”
“Charlotte,” Derek took a deep breath as if he was preparing himself for the next part of the sentence, “Please.”
I raised my eyebrows in shock; this was a strange side of Derek to see, especially since it was over a leather jacket.
“Why can’t you go get?” I inquired.
“I’m currently protecting my investment,” Derek explained cryptically. “Can you just please go get it?”
“Fine, I’ll go get it soon.” I found myself promising him. Derek muttered his thanks before hanging up the phone. I sat on my bed for a few more moments in a stunned silence. Something definitely wrong with Derek and I planned on finding out what that was.
Eventually, I let out a defeated sigh before sliding off of the bed and heading downstairs.
You would think that after a life or death epidemic situation that also involved an evil scientist assassin that there would be some time to recuperate. But apparently that’s not how it works for the McCall pack. Scott, our valiant leader, had come up with absolutely horrendous idea on catching the Benefactor. Now normally I’ll back Scott up on his ideas because I trusted him with my life but this plan of his was quite possibly the worst one I’ve ever heard.
“So we’re going through with this,” I asked once I entered the kitchen to see the three juniors still discussing the game plan.
Scott looked up at me and bobbed his head once, “Yeah, we are.”
“I don’t need to tell you how incredibly stupid this is, do I?” I sighed out with a frown. With every passing second I hated this plan more and more.
“It’ll be fine,” Scott assured me with a small smile. He moved towards me to put a hand on my shoulder but I moved away from him. I just couldn’t do that right now knowing how dangerous all of this was. But I could feel everyone’s eyes on me, obviously noticing what I had just done which caused me to look down at the ground.
Luckily, the doorbell rang and I quickly left the kitchen to go answer it. I had figured it might be Kira’s mom, Noshiko, but instead I was instead facing a familiar pair of bright blue eyes.
“Hey,” Liam greeted after we had stared at each other in silence for a few moments.
“Hi,” I responded.
“So, uh, Scott called me here,” Liam explained as he awkwardly scratched his neck. I found myself barely able to concentrate on what he was saying as my mind replayed our kiss over and over again in my head.
“Oh, right,” I said quickly once I realized I had forgotten to respond. I swear I saw Liam smirk ever so slightly as I opened the door for him, “Come in. Everyone’s right in the kitchen.”
Liam began heading in the direction I had pointed him in but he stopped abruptly and turned so he could face me, “Can we actually talk for a second?”
I peered around Liam to make sure the other’s weren’t waiting on us before I nodding, “Uh, yeah, sure.”
Liam took this opportunity to step closer to me until he was only inches away. Everything in my mind seemed to get hazy as he began talking. “Look, I know about the disease thing at school and I get you were just trying to protect me but I can handle things like that. And I know I probably made things weird between the two of us so I’m sorry I just—I really do like you, Charlotte.”
I bit my lip to hold back an idiotic grin as I looked down at the ground and shook my head, “I know I should’ve told and all but I didn’t want to risk you getting hurt. And things aren’t weird between us I just am beyond socially awkward and I have way to much anxiety stuffed into my tiny little 5’3” body and I do like you and all but—“
My impossible-to-follow rant was quickly cut off by Liam’s lips being pressed on mine in one swift motion. I felt my breathe catch out of surprise at the sudden action but then my eyes drifted shut as I let myself melt into the young werewolf. Somehow it was just as amazing as the first time and I felt myself drift into a slight daze as Liam pulled away. My eyes fluttered opened once I could no longer feel his lips and for a second I was tempted to lean up and kiss him again. Of course, I didn’t exactly have the courage to do something like that.
My eyes stayed locked on Liam’s as he had his hands still cupping my face. “No buts, Charlotte Lahey. I like you and you like me and for right now that is good enough for me.”
I nodded before leaning in and resting my head on his shoulder as Liam wrapped his arms around my shoulders to bring me closer. He might not be as tall as Isaac or even as muscular as Derek or Scott but he still had a way of making me feel safe. After so many years of living in fear this was a feeling I would never get tired of.
“W-we, uh, should go back to the others,” I stammered as I shrugged away Liam’s shoulder. He gave me a small smile and together we walked in to the McCall’s kitchen.
I felt eyes on us as soon as we entered the already slightly crowded room but luckily Stiles quickly launched into an explanation of the plan before any questions could be asked. But the way Scotts eyes lingered on me as his best friend rambled told me he had must’ve listened in on Liam and I.
My head was pounding from all the thoughts running through my mind and I found myself migrating closer to Liam, almost like I thought that being close to him would help calm me down. By now Stiles began pulling out the laptops that we planned on using to tap into a certain hospitals security cameras. Honestly, if we managed to do that I’m not sure I’d want to watch them. Beacon Hills Memorial Hospital had a tendency to go under supernatural attack and I just wanted to be done with the onslaught of wars raging between the good and the bad.
“Is three enough,” Kira asked a pretty important question. What if it wasn’t enough and we could get a visual on everything?
“Depends on how many cameras they have but I think so,” Stiles answered which did little to console my pounding heart. I found my eyes slowly moving in the direction of Scott McCall and I felt a sudden surge of worry for my friend. I did not like the number of negative outcomes that could happen.
“Are we really doing this?” Liam questioned.
“We’re doing it,” Scott responded firmly to his beta, “Tonight.”
Liam frowned, still not liking the idea that the other’s had laid out, “But isn’t it dangerous?”
“Yeah, it’s incredibly dangerous,” Stiles said for Scott. “And borderline idiotic.”
I shook my head as I looked down at the laptops. I think it was debatable whether or not it was borderline idiotic or full blown idiotic and I had my money on the latter.
“Have you guys done something like this before?” Liam now asked Stiles.
“Something dangerous or something idiotic?”
“The answer would be yes to both of those,” I murmured.
Liam looked down with a small frown on his face. Scott noticed the slightly uncomfortable look on his face and offered up a new option. “You don’t have to be a part of this if you don’t want.”
“I’m not scared,” Liam declared and I felt myself giving him a small smile.
“Well then your borderline idiotic,” Stiles decided, also smiling as he put a firm hand on Liam’s shoulder and shooting him a wink which caused me to shake my head in amusement. God, what has gotten into him with all of this winking?
Liam, on the other hand, let out a small grin at the older boy’s gesture which just might make this the first time the two had ever truly gotten along. To be honest I was quite proud.
Stiles then turned to look at Scott. “If we do this, we don’t know what’s coming for us, you know that, right?”
“How do we even know something’s definitely coming?” Kira questioned.
“Because the tape from Garrett’s bag said that visual conformation was required,” Scott explained, referring to the money bag stashed under his bed.
“The scientist said the same thing,” Stiles backed up Scott, “He said he couldn’t get paid until he had proof that you guys were dead.
“So the idea is what if you kill someone on the dead pool but you can’t send them proof?” Scott inquired.
“You don’t get paid,” Kira answered simply.
“How does that get us any closer to the Benefactor?” Liam asked next.
“He still needs to know if the target is really dead,” Scott explained.
“Especially if it’s someone high on the list,” Stiles said in a low voice. All of us had our worries about this plan I guess. To me that was all the more reason not to do it but they were too caught up in it to go back now.
Liam nodded understandingly, “So if he wants visual conformation—“
“He’s going to have to come get it for himself,” Scott finished.
I sighed before backing away from both the table and the little pack conference. “I’d love to stay but Melissa is coming to pick me up on her break so I can go down to the hospital.”
“Why are you going down to the hospital?” Liam questioned just as I was about to exit the kitchen.
“I’m retrieving a leather jacket.”
✧✧✧✧
Melissa managed to get home and taking me to the hospital before her next shift started. Sometimes I think she’s secretly wonder woman. Other times I like to think that my mom would’ve been a lot like her.
“So you came all the way out here just for Derek’s jacket?” Melissa questioned as we walked down the hall ways of the hospital.
“And so I wouldn’t have to witness the grand plan,” I murmured, shuttering at the very thought of what Scott and the other’s would be doing right about now.
Melissa nodded sympathetically and pointed down a hallway, “Okay, go down there, turn left at the end, and the room Braeden was in should be the second door to your left.”
I gave her a small nod before heading down the direction she had pointed. Just as I came across the correct room, a nurse emerged from it. She seemed to have just cleaned out the room and had a familiar black leather jacket slung over her arm.
“That’s, uh, that that’s mine,” I stuttered at the unfamiliar nurse as I motioned to the jacket.
“Seriously?” She questioned, as she looked down at the leather jacket that was easily too big for me. I just nodded vigorously which caused the woman to shrug and hand over the jacket. I sighed in relief as she turned away without asking any more questions. I cannot even begin to explain my hatred towards social situations with strangers.
I then found myself moving to the side of the hallway so I could examine Derek’s jacket. There had to be a reason why he had so badly wanted this back and it couldn’t just be because he looked devilishly handsome in it.
It didn’t take long to find the answer. On the inside part of the jacket was traces of a crimson substance that I dreaded. Blood.
It wasn’t quite an alarming amount but it still intrigued me as to what had happened. Something had to have happened which resulted in Derek getting hurt but I wasn’t entirely sure what. But there was one thing I did know, something was wrong with Derek. According to Scott, his eyes had turned back to yellow instead of icy blue. Then, he had to have been losing his sense of smell which was why he had to pull Malia out of school in order to find Brett’s pack. Lastly, the other day at the animal clinic I noticed Derek didn’t heal as fast as he should have after Brett scratched him. I’d been told Derek had been suffering since Kate had de-aged him but it just then dawned on me what exactly was happening.
This was no temporary event, Derek was losing his werewolf powers.
Before I had the chance to ponder the subject any more, I heard a shrill scream sound out from somewhere down the hall. Knowing all too well that the scream had come from Melissa, I took off running down the hall. I turned the corner just in time to see Melissa McCall with tears streaming down her face.
“What happened to my son?” She wailed as she collapsed to the ground.
I stood froze in my place while tears welled up in my eyes as I looked at the woman who was normally so strong. Seeing her break was one of the worst things I had ever witnessed. I didn’t need to ask any doctors to know what it had been that had broken her because I knew exactly what the verdict had been.
Scott McCall was dead.
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DUN DUN DUN!!!
Okay, can we just take a minute to appreciate how amazing Mama McCall was in the last episode? She had me in tears man.
AND ALSO I NEED TO GIVE YOU GUYS A BIG THANKS BECUASE THIS STORY HIT 50K! That amazes me so freaking much like what is life. I've had a hectic day and I honestly wasnt going to update yet but then I saw thatand I was like wow these guys deserve another chapter.So thanks for all of your support and I love every single one of you. Except you Greenburg, you can stop reading this right now.
Question- How did you like Liam and Charlottes second smooch?
PS the gif I put up with this chapter literally gives me life.