Isaac and I manage to snag seats right before the music started. Danny gives me a wary look from up on the stage and I realize that I don't have much time to come up with an explanation for what's been going on. I can't think of any logical way to explain all of this time him, and I worry how it might affect our friendship.
The music starts off slow and soft. I feel my heart fill with pride at the sound. I remember listening to Danny playing his trumpet a few times over the summer, and to see him up on stage right now killing it is incredible. I feel the energy in the room rise with that of the music. I look around to see a few people have started crying, though I imagine that has more to do with the tribute than the music itself.
Suddenly I'm overcome with a strange feeling. The room starts to blur around me, and I can hardly hear the music anymore. I close my eyes and the music stops completely. All I hear now is a faint whisper, too soft for me to decipher. I focus on it, willing it to be louder.
"Eleanor," I hear as soft as the wind, "Eleanor."
I open my eyes and the music has started back up again, but something has changed. The once upbeat tribute has morphed into something darker, almost chaotic. As if in a trance I stand up and start to move towards the exit. Isaac doesn't seem to notice me leaving, but I am too focused to question why.
Once in the hallway the whispers grow louder, drowning out all other noises. I feel drunk on the sound and let it carry me through the corridors of the school. I don't feel guilt about leaving the recital or worry about where I am going. All I feel is the desire to follow these whispers wherever they may lead.
"Eleanor?" I hear, but I ignore it and keep walking, "Eleanor are you okay?"
I faintly register the footsteps coming after me, and the hands grasping my shoulders. I feel myself trying to pull away, trying to get free from whoever is blocking me so I can go where the whispers are leading. However a scream pierces through the hallway, shattering my trance. Once my head is clear I look and see that it's Stiles holding onto my shoulders, but his focus is elsewhere. Scott is crotched on the ground, his hands covering his ears. When the scream finally stops Scott looks up at us with glowing yellow eyes.
"Lydia," He says, and begins to run down the hall.
Stiles doesn't so much as spare me a glance before sprinting after Scott. I don't hesitate in following him through the maze of hallways. The whispers are gone, and replaced with the sound of banging desks and growls, which echo in the empty hallway. Running side by side, Stiles and I stop once we see an open classroom. I feel my entire body freeze at what is inside the room.
Ms. Blake? I think as my mind tries to decipher the scene in front of me. Ms. Blake is standing next to Lydia, who is duct taped to a chair. Her focus shifts over to me, giving me a wicked smile before she takes the teacher's desk and throws it towards the open door. I'm frozen in place as the door is slammed shut, blocked off by the desk. I notice Stiles has begun pounding on the door, and with effort I break out of my shock to try and help him.
We both push the door, feeling the desk move on the other side. Once the door is slightly open Stiles squeezes through into the classroom. I follow, but stand frozen at the scene in front of me. The classroom looks like it has been hit by a storm, with desks thrown haphazardly and the window shattered. I see blood pooled on the floor and I look up to see Scott standing just above it. I hold back a gasp when I look at his face.
Scott's entire face is shifted. I take in the appearance of hair growing on his cheeks, long white fangs peeking out from his mouth and sharp claws on his hands. I think back to Isaac's glowing eyes, and how that was child's play compared to this. Things suddenly felt very, very real.
I watch Stiles lean down and pick up a crushed Sheriff's badge off the floor, then look out the now shattered classroom window. Still not understanding what's happening, I look around the room to try and piece more information together. Once my eyes meet Lydia's I rush over to her, freeing her hands and legs from the duct tape. Her face is red and blotchy and I notice a bright red line were wrapped around her neck. I'm surprised that once her hands are free she uses them to pull me into a hug.
"Thank you," She whispers, "The Sheriff..."
I feel her trying to get up, but she is uneasy on her feet. Using me as a crutch, she walks over to a distraught looking Stiles. He wraps his arms around her, and I can hear him saying, "He's gone, she took my dad, he's gone."
After that time begins to move at a disorienting pace. I find myself backing out of the classroom, feeling out of place in this grief. However I'm stopped by Scott who has come up next to me. I try to look at him normally, but my mind keeps flashing back to him as a werewolf. If my face shows this fear, Scott ignores it.
"Stiles and I are going to need to go warn Derek," Scott says, but after seeing my confused face clarifies, "He's the guy who turned Isaac. He was sort of seeing Jennifer."
"Jennifer?" I ask, still not grasping the point.
"Sorry, Ms. Blake. He was seeing Ms. Blake. We need to go warn him and stop her from..." Scott trails off, glancing in Stiles' direction, "I just texted Allison and told her to come, but will you stay with Lydia until then? We don't have time explain everything"
"I mean, yeah," I say, and just like that Scott grabs a distraught Stiles and pulls him out of the room.
Under normal circumstances I feel awkward around Lydia, but tonight I just feel numb. Lydia watches Scott and Stiles go, and then slides down to the floor. I walk over to her slowly, trying to imagine how I might want to be treated under the circumstances. Before I can decide the best course of action though, Allison bursts into the room.
"Lydia!" Allison yells, rushing to comfort her.
Neither of them seem to notice I'm here and I feel like I'm intruding on an intimate moment. All at once the room starts to fill as Allison's father and Lydia's mom arrive. I don't question how they all knew to come, but take it as my que to slip out of the room.
While walking back to the cafeteria I no longer hear music, and people have started filling into the hallway. I hear snippets of conversations, but none of them make sense. I don't have time to piece together what has happened in my absence before Ethan and Danny rush into the hall.
"Eleanor!" Danny yells, rushing over to me, "Where have you been? Were you not in there?"
"Wait, what? What's going on?" I ask, just as Ethan comes up next to Danny. I try not to flinch at the protective arm he wraps around Danny's shoulders.
"During the recital, it was some sort of freak accident. Mrs. Petterson was playing the piano and, well it," Danny cuts off, unable to continue.
"A piano chord slashed her throat," Ethan says.
"What?" I ask, eyes darting back and forth between the two of them. Danny looks about ready to cry, but Ethan give me a look that confirms my suspicions. This was not an accident.
"I'm going to go to the bathroom," Danny says before rushing off to either cry or be sick. Neither Ethan or I make a move to follow him.
"Where did you go during the concert? I saw you get up and leave," Ethan whispers.
"That's none of your concern," I spit back.
"Eleanor, please," Ethan pleads, "You look like you just saw a ghost, I want to make sure you are okay."
I let out an exasperated breath, and feel myself about to give in and tell him, when Isaac comes up next to us. Ethan stiffens, and I watch as both of their eyes begin to glow. Ethan's eyes are blood red, and the low growl he lets out is unnerving. I smack both boys on the arm, hissing, "Knock it out, both of you. Do you want someone to notice?"
Ethan gives me a weary glance, before walking into the men's room to find Danny. Isaac immediately faces me, and I watch him search my body for any sign of harm. I see relief fill his face when he only finds the faint marks still left from the crows. Before he can say anything though, I interrupt him.
"It's Ms. Blake." I whisper, "I don't know how, or who, or why, but The Darach is Ms. Blake and she took Sheriff Stilinski."
I didn't notice that as I was speaking Allison and her father had come up behind and overheard. They must have left Lydia and her mother alone, and then come out to find Isaac. The three of them begin to discuss what had happened in hushed tones.
Unable to follow fully and still feeling the shock from what I saw, I find myself sitting down against the cool locker. I sit with my eyes closed and think back on all of the conversations I had with Ms. Blake. Had it all been fabricated? Had she just been manipulating me to try and figure out my mother's past? Had she left me those letters?
After a few moment's Isaac joins me and pulls my head onto his shoulder. Soon Danny and Ethan have left, along with most of the crowds. Hours pass and the weather outside goes from a light sprinkle to a full on storm.
Thunder booms outside, and in a flash the power goes out in the school. The Argent's, who had been busy giving their witness accounts to the Sheriff's deputies, walk back over to where we are sitting. Isaac stands up off the locker and I reluctantly follow him over to them.
"The power seems to be out all over town," Allison says, looking down at the news report on her phone.
"I'm surprised the cell towers aren't off," Isaac says right as both his and Allison's phones receive a message. I look over at Isaac's phone to see Scott has texted:
Scott: W/ Derek and Ms. Blake Hospital. Alpha pack is here. Need back up
"Dad," I hear Allison say just as Isaac leads me down the hall for some privacy.
"I need to go with them," He says, "Scott wouldn't ask for my help if it wasn't important."
"But Isaac, Ms. Blake somehow was able to take out both Scott and the Sheriff! She almost killed Lydia! And on top of all of that, the alpha pack is there too?" I say, trying to make him see the gravity of the situation that I only just barely understand myself.
"I know, but that's why I need to go. They're my pack and they need me."
"I'll go with you then. I could help, I mean I..." I say but trail off when I realize there's no point. I know I would just get in the way and cause more harm than good. Instead of fighting, I wrap my arms around Isaac's neck and pull his lips towards mine. The kiss is wet from the tears I had let fall from my eyes, and when we pull back I rest my forehead against him.
"I'll be okay," Isaac whispers.
"You have to be. I just got you back, I can't lose you again. I just can't lose you."
"Isaac," I hear Allison say from somewhere down the hall, "We have to go now."
Isaac gives me a final kiss before follow Allison and her father out the building. I feel numb on the drive home, focusing solely on navigating through the stormy weather. My phone had died hours ago, but I knew that my father would be worried sick at home. Totalling the car would only add to the extreme tension between us, so I drove as carefully as I could.
Once I pull into the driveway I see most of the house lights were on. Though it must be well past midnight , and my dad is scheduled for an early morning shift, he clearly has decided to wait up for me. I sit in the car for a few moments, trying to calm myself down before going inside. If my dad sees how shaken up tonight has left me he would only have more reason to try and keep me from Isaac. However when I open the door and find him asleep on the couch in the family room, I thank my lucky stars that I won't need to deal with anything more tonight.
Despite all of my worry, I manage to fall asleep easily the moment I lay down. I hadn't been planning on falling asleep so fast, so when I wake up to the sound of my phone ringing I am laying above my covers, still in my sweater dress. I reach for my phone, noticing that it is around 4am, and quickly answer the call.
"Isaac, are you okay?"
"Yeah, I'm fine El," He says, but his voice cracks in pain, "I'm okay but she has Scott's mom. Ms. Blake has his mom."