I woke up the next morning, my eyelids heavy. I had literally got no sleep at all. Thoughts about me being Liam's anchor had been racing through my head all through the night.
When we got home, Scott explained the anchor thing in more detail to me. Of course, I realised that I had completely overreacted. I knew Liam liked me but the fact that I was his anchor; I was the one who could bring him back to his human form. Honestly, it scared me that I could actually mean that much to someone.
Saying that, I did kinda have my suspicions that I might be his anchor. There's been numerous occasions where I've been the one to calm him down.
I suppose I reacted like I did because I remembered Scott and Allison. She was his anchor but when they broke up, he was distraught. He tried so hard to get over her but the truth is, I don't think he ever did. I care about Liam too much to let that happen to him.
I climbed out of bed and headed to the bathroom to get ready for school. I planned to talk to Liam today and explain why I reacted like that. I had no idea what I was going to say.
~
As I walked through the school corridor, I noticed Liam and Mason talking. I quickly stood at a locker nearby and waited until they had finished their conversation. Liam finally turned around and I ran over to him.
"Liam!" I called out. He turned his head to look at me and then turned back around and started walking again.
Mason looked at me, crossing his arms over his chest.
I groaned. "What?"
"Did you have an argument?" Mason asked.
"Kind of" I said. "I may have overreacted slightly to something and now he wont talk to me"
"You see, this is exactly why I'm gay. Girls create drama. Guys don't" Mason said. I rolled my eyes. "So are you going to the bonfire tonight?" he asked.
"Probably not"
"Why? I'm sure Liam wants to see you there" he winked.
"I'm pretty sure Liam never wants to see me again. And this social anxiety thing, I'm not good with big crowds of people" I shrugged.
"Please come" he gave me the puppy eyes. The goddamn puppy eyes.
"I'd rather sit at home and eat ice cream whilst watching the notebook and crying about my life"
"Great, I'll see you there" he clapped a hand on my shoulder and left me in the middle of the almost deserted hallway.
"Great" I muttered sarcastically.
~
Sometimes you don't realise you're actually drowning when you're trying to be everyone else's anchor.
My english teacher wrote that quote on the board today. I didn't realise how relevant it actually is to me, right now, until I'd been stood outside the boys locker rooms for twenty minutes, waiting for my brother.
I was trying so hard to be strong for everyone else that I didn't realise I was the one drowning. And once the pressure in my head became unbearable, I would let go, stop breathing, just to be released.
The door to the lockers suddenly opened, shaking the thoughts from my head. Liam came out looking uneasy. I don't quite know if he saw me but he continued to walk past. I picked my bag up from the floor and followed him.
I found him sat on the steps, twirling his lacrosse stick in his hands.
"Hey" I said, sitting down next to him. He shifted uncomfortably. "I know you're upset but avoiding me isn't going to make this go away" I said.
He didn't look at me, just stared ahead. Like I wasn't there.
"I know I completely overreacted. It just freaked me out a little. The fact that I'm the only one that can bring you back to your human form terrified me" I explained. He still said nothing. "Liam, I care about you so much. And I really like you. But I constantly have Scott and Allison's relationship at the back of my mind and I don't want us to be like that"
His eyes flickered to the floor. He was still avoiding my eyes. I sighed and started to stand up. As I reached down to pick up my bag, he grabbed my hand and pulled me back down.
"I'm sorry" he whispered.
"Don't be sorry. This is all my mess"
"I just know how worried you've been about everybody else and now you have to worry about me too"
"I can deal with it" Both of us knew that was a lie. Like I said, one day it's going to become too much.
"You know, now that you're my anchor, we're probably gonna have to spend a lot more time together" he nudged me.
"Sure you're not gonna get sick of me" I grinned.
"Of course not" He smirked. I sighed and rested my head on his shoulder.
"How did we end up here" I wondered out loud.
"You know part of me is kinda glad all this happened to me"
"Why? You didn't choose this"
"But I got to meet you" I lifted my head up and looked at him. "Sure, I'm being hunted by assassins but I've got you by my side"
"Do you really mean that?"
"Do you want me to prove it?" he raised his eyebrows. I laughed lightly.
"Well if you feel that it's necessary then I-" he cut me off by pressing his soft lips to mine. I was so lost in the kiss that I didn't hear my brother shouting Liam's name, until I heard him yell "Oh my god" from the top of the stairs.
Liam and I both pulled away, a little flustered and looked up at my brother.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt" he said awkwardly.
"It's fine. I'll just let you two talk" I said, gathering my bags.
"Wait, you need to hear this" Liam said. Scott sat down next to him. "Last night my printer went off by itself. I couldn't turn it off" he said. Scott and I looked at him, waiting for him to finish. "I hit the cancel button but it just kept printing" he continued.
"Printing what?" Scott asked. Liam started to pull some sheets out of his pocket.
"WHAT THE HELL IS THIS" I heard coach yell. All three of us stood up and ran to his office where the printer was whirring and printing off loads of sheets. I bent down and picked some up. I frowned. It was the deadpool.
"You see the difference?" Liam said as we stood in the corridor.
"Derek's not on the list anymore"
"And Liam isn't worth three million" I said noticing the 18 next to his name.
"It's eighteen now. Eighteen million"
~
"You didn't have to come tonight" Scott said as we pushed our way through the crowd of intoxicated bodies. "I know you hate social situations"
I shrugged. "I want to look out for you. And Liam"
Scott seemed to be looking around at everyone, probably searching for Liam.
"Hey is that Malia?" I asked pointing to a girl with a short grey dress on.
Scott didn't reply and started walking over there instead. "What are you doing here?" he asked.
"Getting drunk" Scott and I shared a look. "What are you doing?"
"Trying to make sure no one gets hurt" Scott answered.
"Emphasis on the word trying" I added.
"That sounds fun too" Malia said,taking a sip from her flask.
"I don't want to ruin your night or anything, but we kind of can't get drunk" Scott said.
"What?"
"I think it has something to do with our healing. But trust me, I've tried. You're not gonna feel anything" He explained.
Malia shrugged, her body still swaying to the beat of the music. "Maybe you should tell him that"
I looked where she was pointing and realised she was indicating to Liam, who was stumbling about.
"Fantastic" I muttered sarcastically.
I gave Scott an apologetic look and left him with Malia whilst I made my way over to Liam and Mason. Liam was chugging down his drink like there was no tomorrow.
"Not gonna tell me to slow down" he looked between Mason and I. I kept my mouth shut.
"Actually, I was gonna say 'Keep drinking'. I think you should get drunk. And I mean stumbling down, fall on your ass, passed out with your face in a toilet drunk" Mason said.
Liam let out a small laugh. "Why?"
"Maybe then when I ask you what's going on, you'll be too drunk to lie"
Liam looked at me and I bit my lip. I've always felt guilty for keeping things from Mason. He's such a good guy, I'd hate for him to get involved with everything.
"I'm not asking this because I want to know. I'm asking because I want to help"
Liam ignored him and stood up. "I'm getting another drink. Yeah, I'm getting drunk"
"Liam" I said just before he left.
"Yeah" I was going to mention that he couldn't actually get drunk but Mason was listening.
"Uh, nevermind"
~
I was getting worried about Liam. Obviously, he couldn't get drunk but he sure as hell was acting like he was. This can't be right.
"You look so hot tonight" Liam's muscular arms wrapped around my waist. I rolled my eyes. He started kissing my neck and I closed my eyes. After a moment or two, I turned around, pushing him back a little.
"Liam, are you okay?"
"I'm fine!" he slurred, throwing his hands up in the air. He then tripped backwards and fell on the floor. Mason and I went to his side and helped him up.
I heard Scott shouting over to Mason. "How much has he had to drink?"
"Not enough to get him like this" Mason replied.
"Something's happening" I said to my brother as he helped Malia over to where me, Mason and Liam were sat. "We need to get them out of here"
"I think we're gonna have to, um..." Scott trailed off, looking at his hand. I frowned.
"How much have you had to drink?" Mason queried.
"Nothing. Not even a sip"
I looked around at the fire, the flashing lights and the teenagers dancing to the beat of the music.
The music.
"It's not the drinks" I said. Scott looked around, just like I'd done a second ago. His eyes settled on the DJ.
"It's the music"
~
"I have to turn the music off, don't let them out of your sight" Scott said sternly. He looked at me with a nervous look in his eye. This was the work of an assassin.
I was so focused on Scott that I didn't see the two police officers come up behind us and grab Malia and Liam.
"Wait stop" Mason said.
"Hey, what are you doing? These are my friends" I said, trying to reach for Liam's arm.
"Your friends are overly intoxicated, they need to be escorted out"
"Okay, we'll go with them" Mason said.
"That wont be necessary" I narrowed my eyes, looking at the police officer. Something was off about him.
"I said they're my friends!" The officer pushed Mason to the floor and I gasped, letting go of Liams arm to help Mason.
"You okay, man?" Some random guy in a lacrosse jersey said, helping Mason up. I looked at my best friend and at the dodgy police officers.
"I'll be back" I said, starting to follow them.
"Rebecca!" Mason shouted after me. I was too lost in the crowd to reply.
~
I ducked past people, mumbling an apology, and then followed the officers to the front of the school. They shoved Malia and Liam down next to someone who I couldn't quite make out.
I then realised.
These guys are the assassins.
And the guy on the ground, getting gasoline poured all over him, is my brother.
Without properly thinking this through, I walked towards the school doors and pushed them open.
"Haigh says we gotta burn you" The man said, bending down next to Scott.
I stepped inside, my heels making a clicking noise on the floor.
"Not so fast"
~
"You're very pretty" The guy cupped my cheeks.
"Don't touch her" Scott growled.
The man ignored him. "It's such a shame that I'm gonna have to burn you" He poured the gasoline over my head and I coughed, spitting it out.
"She's not on the dead pool! She's human" Scott protested. I looked my brother straight in the eye.
"If you go, I go too"
The creepy guy laughed in satisfaction and pulled out a lighter, flipping it open and holding it to my face.
"So beautiful, do you want me to count down" he said, putting the flame dangerously close to my face. I locked eyes with him and then blew out the flame.
"Oops" I smirked.
The guy angrily lit it again and held it up to both mine and Scott's face.
Suddenly, the music stopped and Scott squinted. Then his eyes turned red and he put his hand out, closing the lid on the lighter. He grabbed the man's hand and twisted it so you could hear the bone crunch.
I heard some grunting and fighting sounds coming from down the hall and then Derek and Braeden appeared looking badass.
By this point, Malia and Liam had started to sit up and become aware of their surroundings.
"What happened to the gun?" Scott raised his eyebrows at Derek.
"You're covered in gasoline"
"Oh yeah" Derek held his hand out and helped Scott up. He pulled me up too.
"Aww. Braeden's been teaching you well" I grinned cheekily, patting his shoulder. He gave me a glare and I laughed as he then helped Malia and Liam up.
Just as I was trying to brush my hair out of my face, because it kept sticking to me, my phone rang. I'm surprised it survived after tonight's gasoline ordeal. I checked the caller ID to see that Stiles was calling.
"Rebecca? Rebecca?" It was Lydia's voice that came through the reciever. I immediately thought the worst. Stiles and Lydia had gone to Eichen to try and figure out more about the benefactor and I had been worried all night that the dickhead Brunski was gonna hurt them.
"Lydia? Are you okay?" I asked worriedly. Scott looked over at me, a panicked expression on his face.
"The benefactor" she blurted. I could feel the blood draining from my face. I gulped. There was some rustling about on the other end of the line and I couldn't hear Lydia anymore.
"Lydia? Lyds, are you okay?" I asked frantically.
"Rebecca" Stiles came onto the phone. I sighed in relief when I heard his voice.
"Stiles! What's going on?" I demanded.
"The benefactor. You need to tell Scott"
"Spit it out Stilinkski!"
I was not prepared to hear what came next. Scott looked at me anxiously and I realised he was listening in on the conversation. So was Liam and Malia. They all stared at me, waiting in anticipation.
Stiles took a deep breath before he answered.
"It's Meredith"
A/N
MEREDITH IS THE BENEFACTOR WHAT
I did not see that coming!
I'm going to Manchester tomorrow to see my family so I might not be able to do an extra update as I'm going to be there for a week. I'll try my best though.
By the way, if you ever wanna talk to me or fangirl about Teen Wolf with me then follow me on twitter :)
@mollyhutchings_
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