DISCLAIMER: I Do Not Own Teen Wolf
Co-Captain
Lacrosse games always made Scott feel better. Or, at least, they used to. After running about, scoring goals and looking frantically around for his best friend, the team one. They were going to state (yay), but the werewolf had much more pressing matters to attend to.
"Stiles!"
Stiles wasn't at the game yet. His dad had asked about him, and Scott had had to lie and make up an excuse, but he thought the boy would be there by now. Coach may not have put him in the game, but he should at least be sat waiting for him on the bench.
Where the hell was he?!
"Stiles! Stiles!"
He could barely hear himself over the noise of his teammates chanting around him. They were all rushing to the locker rooms (which was good; Scott's werewolf sense of smell made them all stink a hundred times worse), but he couldn't see the familiar buzz cut anywhere.
"Has anyone seen Stiles?"
He shoved his way through the crowd, but was pushed roughly into another person. His arms went out immediately to steady them, and he came face to face with Ellie, who gave him a shy (slightly awkward) smile. Aaron Thompson barrelled in between them, shouting 'state, state, state' over and over again, but Scott was too preoccupied staring at his ex-girlfriend to notice.
"You were..." Ellie trailed off, biting her lower lip, "You were pretty good out there. You know, compared to everyone else on the field. You were awesome."
"Thanks," he grinned down at her, "You, too." You, too? You freaking too? He always embarrassed himself around her. I should just go live under someone's stairs. She gave him an odd look, and he tried to amend, "I mean, uh, that's-that's not what I meant."
"No!" Ellie's hand reached out, like she was about to touch him, but it stopped and was left to dangle at her side. "No, I did some pretty impressive cheering. You can thank me. In fact, I'd be offended if you didn't."
"You did?"
"Totally," she gave an obnoxious scoff, "I went from 'go team, go' to 'defence, defence' without a breath." He laughed as she giggled quietly and bragged, "I brought my A game."
Then freaking Aaron Thompson again (that dude was seriously going to punched) waltzed between them, still chanting 'state, state, state', and blocked his view of the girl he was in love with. Scott narrowed his eyes in a dangerous glare, and Aaron moved along (he looked scared). By the time his eyes found Ellie again, the was being taken out of the school by her uncle, who looked less than pleased she'd gone in after him.
"Oh, isn't that just heart breaking," Jackson said, pouting mockingly, "Gosh, I bet it causes a lot of sleepless nights. You know what, though, McCall? I actually sympathise, which is why I'm going to make this mutually beneficial. You get me what I want, and I'll help you get her back."
"What?" Was he being serious?
"Well," the other boy amended, "Three days makes it just in time for the winter formal. Uh, think about you taking her instead of me. And also think about all of the things you'll be able to do to get her out of some tight, little dress by the end of the night." Scott scowled. How dare he think about Ellie in such a sexualised way?! "You see how this can work out for everybody? Three days, McCall." He slapped him on the cheek lightly before walking away, throwing a, "Have fun," over his shoulder.
✚
After a long and, admittedly, cold shower (all the talk about Ellie in a tight dress messed with his rampaging hormones), Scott walked to his things in the locker room with only a towel wrapped around his waist.
"By the way, McCall," someone called over to him. He turned to see Danny, wearing only jeans, grinning at him, "Apology accepted.
Scott pointed out, "I didn't apologise," He had been planning on apologising, though.
"Every time you got the ball tonight, you passed it to me." Danny pointed out.
"Every time I passed the ball to you, you scored."
Danny whipped on his shirt and started to walk out of the locker room, but not before pausing and repeating, "Apology accepted."
With Danny gone, Scott realised that he was the last person left inside the room. Last time he'd been in there at night, he'd watched someone get torn apart by the alpha, so he decided throwing on his clothes as quickly as possible would probably be a good plan.
But, a second away from spritzing on some Lynx, the lights shut off. Did Danny do that? He put the can back on the shelf and hesitantly called his teammate's name, but no one replied. A moment later, he was next to the light switch, flicking it a couple of times. Nothing happened, so Scott guessed the power was out. Of course, that made it no less incredibly creepy than it was.
The sound of rolling interrupted his train of thought, and he watched as a lone lacrosse ball bumped into a set of metal lockers and changed course. "What?" He bent to pick the thing up, and looked around the corner, where the showers were.
He jumped when he saw it was only Derek. "Thank god! Where the hell have you been? Do you have any idea what's been going on?!"
Derek stared at something behind the beta, and Scott looked around to see an older man, holding a lacrosse stick. The man was good looking for an old guy, and had slight facial features that reminded him of the broddy werewolf behind him. With a start, Scott realised that it was Peter Hale, Derek's uncle; the one who'd been comatose in the hospital with fatal burns covering one half of his face.
"I really don't get lacrosse," was all the man said.
"It's you." Scott said dumbly.
The alpha continued, "When I was in high school, we played basketball. There's a real sport. Still, I read somewhere that lacrosse comes from Native American tribes that played it to resolve conflict." He paused, swinging the stick to rest on his shoulder for a moment before examining it again. "I have a little conflict of my own to resolve, Scott." He put the stick down, "But I need your help to do it."
"I'm not helping you kill people," Scott said resolutely, scowling.
Peter looked at him in mock offence, "Well, I don't want to kill all of them. Just the responsible ones, and that doesn't have to include..." he trailed off, obviously having forgotten the youngest Argent's name.
"Ellie." Derek finished for him.
Scott nearly gasped, staring at the older werewolf in shock and even slight betrayal. "You're on his side?" he asked disbelievingly. "Are you forgetting the part where he killed your sister?!"
"... It was a mistake," Derek replied blandly, staring at his uncle.
"What?" Scott demanded, voice an octave higher than usual.
"It happens." Derek said levelly. It happens? It happens? It FREAKING happens? Had he lost his mind? Was he smoking something? He had to be smoking something! He had to be, because there was no way Derek would justify the murder of his own sister by saying 'it was a mistake' and that 'it happens'. Oh, yeah, right, Derek, he accidently tore your sister in half to become the alpha and kick start the healing process. Not for his own gain at all!
"Scott," Peter called, and the teen slowly faced him, "I think you're getting the wrong impression of us. We really just want to help you reach your full potential."
"By killing my friends."
"Sometimes, the people closest to you," the alpha let his eyebrows dip in faux sympathy, "Can be the one's holding you back the most."
"If they're holding me back from becoming a psychotic nut job, like you, I'm okay with that." Scott told the pair, resisting the urge to tighten his towel. He was naked in a dark locker room with two guys, both of which had no alliance to him and were capable of pretty much anything. Gosh, why didn't they confront him when he was wearing at least some underwear. That would be slightly less life threateningly awkward.
Peter walked toward him, raising his hand to uncurl hi fingers, mouth thinning. "Maybe you could try and see things from my perspective." His claws appeared, and then they were jammed into his neck and he blacked out.
By the time Stiles got to the school, Scott was awake, sat, still in his towel, on one of the benches.
"Dude, we have a huge problem!" Stiles said.
"Trust me, I know."
✚
Ellie wasn't proud of the dream she had of Scott that night. They were broken up, but she loved him and hadn't actually kissed anyone properly since Jackson. It wasn't her fault she was a little horny. A sex dream was the last thing she expected, as was waking up breathless and holding her bare throat, but that wasn't what was troubling her.
Her necklace was gone.
She was out of her bed and rummaging through her things in a second, but it was totally gone. With a worried sigh, she threw on a hoodie and ran to her car. Maybe it had fallen off in there? That was possible, right? Although, she couldn't recall having it at school that day, or after, when Scott had been at her house.
The conversation he'd had with her uncle was still plaguing her. He was trying to protect her? How was lying and yelling and trying to get himself killed in anyway protecting her? She could look after herself. She didn't need him to swoop in and try to become a martyr. She wanted him alive, and preferably in the same position they had been in her dream.
After ten or so minutes of hopelessly jamming her hands into the gaps between the car seats, the garage door opened. Ellie hadn't even been aware that her uncle had left, so she closed the car door and sank lower in her seat.
"It hasn't been an issue since we moved here." That was Chris' voice, sounding exasperated, and she watched as her aunt Kate walked inside.
"All I'm saying is that firing those things so close by is bound to draw some attention."
He held up an arrowhead. "These things have saved my life more than once, and I know how to be inconspicuous when I need to." He threw it into the bin.
"This coming from a man whose preferred weapon is a crossbow. You know, these extra skills are something you could be teaching the girls."
"Not yet."
"Ever?"
"Not yet. You coming?"
Kate placed one of the heads on the table, before saying, "Yeah," innocently and following him out. As soon as they were out of sight, Ellie left her hiding space and grabbed both of the discarded heads. One was flattened and seemed to be of no use anymore; the other, the one her aunt had left, was perfectly intact.
It was instinct for her to tuck the new one in her pocket and walk back to her room, mind whilring at just how weird her family really was.
✚
The next day, Ellie, Allison and Lydia were supposed to go shopping for the winter formal. Now that any chances of going with Scott were out the window, she wasn't too enthusiastic, so she managed to convince the other girls to stop at the preserve beforehand. It was important for her to see what the hell the arrowhead was for.
Lydia was pretty upset at the fact she had to trudge through the woods in heels, but Allison was silent. The taller girl seemed to be just going with it. After what happened with Scott (and the kiss), she'd been very 'understanding' - which meant she didn't want to make Ellie any more annoyed with her.
"Ellie, when you said that you needed to stop for an errand before we went shopping, a five mile hike in the woods was not what I was expecting," the strawberry blonde said, breathing heavily. It was kind of obvious that she didn't do much exercise aside from what happened in the bedroom (not that Ellie was judging her).
"Before I forget, I wanted to ask if you were okay with something." Ellie said sweetly, "Jackson asked me to the winter formal."
"... Did he?"
It wasn't actually part of her plan to make Lydia angry that way, but, hey, happy accident. Besides, it wasn't like it actually meant anything to her. Jackson may as well have been her younger brother.
"Just as friends, but I wanted to make sure you were okay with it first."
"Sure, as long as it's just friends."
"Well, yeah, I mean, it's not like I would take him to coach's office during lacrosse practise to make out with him and then forget to tell you about it, or anything."
Behind her, Allison and Lydia both exchanged horrified looks.
"Uh..." Lydia said.
"About that..." Allison said.
Ellie waved her hand absently, before stopping and crouching down to remove her bow from her duffel bag. She screwed the arrow head into an arrow and smiled.
"What does that do?"
"We're about to find out," Ellie drew it back and held it into position, barely even having to aim before letting it loose. It hit the centre of a tree opposite them perfectly. But that wasn't what surprised the girls. What surprised them was that it didn't just hi the tree, but sparks flew out of it.
What?
"What the hell was that?" Lydia and Allison asked at the same time.
"I don't know."
There was a pause.
"Well," Lydia said, "That was fun. Anymore lethal weapons you want to try out?"
She didn't respond, instead cocking her head to the side at the sound of twig snapping a little way away from them.
Ellie turned to Allison and gave her the bow, still staring into the distance.
"I'm going to go look."
"What, why?"
"Because I heard something."
"So?"
"So, I want to know what that something is. Don't worry it's probably nothing."
"What if that nothing is something and that something is something dangerous?" Lydia called to her retreating form, and the shorter girl turned her head to look at her cousin.
"Shoot it."
Maybe going off on her own, without a weapon, in the middle of the woods and with a killer on the loose wasn't a great idea, but she never said she was smart. Besides, she still had the Taser her aunt had given her. So, when she heard footsteps behind her, she didn't hesitate before electrocuting them.
It was Scott.
"Scott?" He was shaking violently, on the floor with his face twisted. If it wasn't potentially lethal, it would've been funny. Gosh, he even peed a little. "Scott!" Crouching next to him, she dropped the gun, stopping the shock.
"I'm so sorry!" Ellie gasped, "I'm so, so sorry!"
"No, it's my fault. Totally my fault. The fault was no one's but my own."
"Are you okay? Oh my God."
"Yeah," he jerked in an aftershock, "I'm fine."
"If I'd've known it was you..." she tried.
He snorted, "You still would've pulled the trigger?"
"No! Of I course I wouldn't pull the trigger, w-" she broke off, pulling the wires from his body, wincing, "I'm really sorry. I literally cannot stress how sorry I am."
"It's fine," he smiled boyishly.
"Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yeah, I-I think so. Pretty sure I'm all good now." He twitched, "Maybe."
"What are you doing here, anyway? Were you following us?"
"... No."
"..."
"Not at all. Your uncle told me that your cousin runs this trail sometimes, and I knew you were all going out together... I was hoping to talk to you. Alone."
"By following me. Actually, no, by following Allison," she tried not to sound too bitter.
"Well, yeah. Kind of. I guess."
"... Why?"
"Oh!" He dug into his pocket and pulled out her necklace. "I found this at school."
Ellie took it from him and looed it around her neck, tears coming to her eyes. "Thank you! I thought I'd lost it, and I don't know what I would do if I had. I was worried it was stolen."
"No, just lost. Definitely not stolen by anyone."
"Thank you for finding it, Scott." It would've been the perfect time to kiss him, but she didn't.
Scott leaned up on his elbows, squinting in the sun, "You don't think I'm a total stalker now, do you?"
"No," she smiled, "I just think you're weird, like you always have been."
They sat in silence for a moment, and then Ellie wrapped her arms around him tightly. The hug was sad, and wistful. They both savoured it, Scott closing his eyes and breathing in deeply, Ellie burying her face into his neck and brushing her lips over the pulse point. That was probably a bad move, considering they weren't a thing anymore, but she was still sexually frustrated from her dream and her hormones were all over the place.
As quickly as it started, it ended, and she forced herself to stand up and go back to Allie and Lydia.
✚
Ellie wasn't sure how she ended up at Scott's house two hours later. The shopping trip had been abandoned, and she needed to talk about her family with someone she trusted. Usually, she'd turn to Allison, but things between them were tense, so she went to Scott, the only person in the town who she could discuss this with.
When she knocked on his door, Mrs McCall was the one who answered.
"Um, can I help you?"
"No, I mean, yeah, well, not you..." she cleared her throat, "I need to talk to Scott."
"And you are..."
"Ellie! I'm Ellie; we met at the parent/teacher conference thing a couple of months ago? I'm Scott's gir-" she coughed, "Ex-girlfriend."
"Scott's upstairs, sweetie," Melissa smiled, not missing the way the teenager had to correct herself, "I'm sure he'd love to talk to you."
"Thank you," Ellie sighed, "I really- just, thanks."
Upstairs, she knocked hesitantly on his bedroom door, knowing it was the point of no return. He yelled something she couldn't make out, and she knocked again. He answered, looking annoyed, but his face slacked when he saw her on the other side.
"Sorry, I- your mum let me in, if that- if that's okay?"
"That's fine," his voice was an octave higher than usual.
She bit her lower lip, Scott trying desperately not to think about doing that himself. "Can we talk?"
✚
Talking wasn't as easy as she thought it would be.
They'd been sat together, in silence, for a while, and she had no idea how to start.
"Do you want me to say something first?" Scott asked.
"No."
"Uh, okay."
"..."
"...Do you want me to leave you alone for a few minutes?"
Ellie stared at him incredulously, "Why would I want that?"
"I don't know, it's just that you came in here, said you wanted to talk and we've been sitting here for like ten minutes and you haven't said anything yet and it's starting to freak me out."
"Sorry! I don't know why but it's, like, really hard to start. I'm not feeling particularly loquacious today, which is weird, but just because I talk a lot doesn't mean I actually know what I'm talking about..."
"You can tell me anything," he whispered, curling his fingers through hers.
She sighed, looking down at their hands, "This is going to sound nuts, and totally ridiculous, and I don't want you to laugh at me."
"I would never laugh at you."
Ellie took a deep breath. "It's about my family."
"Okay."
"A little while ago, I caught them in a lie. It was a small one, about when my aunt first arrived. It was car trouble, and Uncle Chris said it was a flat tire, but she said she needed a jumpstart."
"Maybe it was just a miscommunication?" he suggested.
"I thought that, too," Ellie nodded, "But then I found glass in her car, like her window had been smashed in, and I've been hearing some really strange conversations. I think it has something to do with Derek Hale."
"Are you sure?"
"Yeah, and I know that you agree with me when I say I think he's not the one-"
The door opened, cutting her off, and Melissa's voice said, "I'm going to be home late tonight."
Ellie yanked her hand away from his, blushing, and the adult stopped, looking guilty. She'd obviously forgotten that she was there.
"What?" the adult said, "What's wrong? Is it my hair? Makeup?"
"No!" Scott assured her, "Nothing's wrong. You look beautiful."
"Amazing," Ellie added, "You look amazing."
"Amazing," the werewolf repeated, "Why do you look amazing?"
Ellie nudged him in the side, frowning, but Melissa replied like nothing was wrong. "Because, amazingly, I'm having dinner tonight with a member of the male gender who's over the age of sixteen."
"Who?"
"A medical rep who came into the hospital today. Yeah, we just kind of started talking and the next thing I know I'm saying yes to dinner and I'm really hating myself for skipping the gym last week."
"What medical rep?"
The doorbell rang, and the older woman turned, "That medical rep, and I-I'm not-not ready, I'm not done, not ready, so if you could please just, just get the door and talk with him, okay," she left the room, peaking her head around the door to say, "Be nice," before heading back to her bedroom.
Scott turned to Ellie, who wasn't sure whether to smile or cry, "Just one minute, okay?"
From upstairs, she could hear the doorbell ringing a few more times, but she didn't go back down. Scott ran back into the room, but he didn't stop to talk. He was pacing, picking up random things, putting them down, and saying, "If you just stay, I swear I'll be right back, I just-just have to, um, uh, I wouldn't be doing this if it wasn't totally incredibly important."
"It's alright," Ellie had long since come to terms with the fact that she was never going to be the most important thing on Scott's to do list. Whatever shenanigans he was probably a second away from getting into with Stiles always came first. She didn't resent that, or him, but she didn't like it. She would never be his priority, and that was okay. They weren't in a relationship anymore.
"No!" He sat next to her again, "I want to talk to you, I really, really want to. There's actually nothing I want to do more right now. Can you wait for me, please? I'll be right back, I swear." She nodded slowly, "Thank you."
Two and a half hours later, Scott still wasn't back.
Kate:
We need to talk
Yeah, talking to her shady Aunt Kate seemed better than embarrassing herself more by waiting for someone who obviously found something better to do.
She quickly wrote a note to tell him that she was leaving (I had to leave, my aunt wanted me back. See you later, I guess. Maybe. x) then walked out of the house, feeling wary about it being unlocked.
She found her aunt and her cousin waiting for her at home, and they set off to the preserve.
Kate led the two into some weird underground lair place, and Allison asked, "What is this place?"
Kate leaned against a rusty metal door. "Let's start with the basics: you know how every family has its secrets? Ours are a little different." She slid the door open, and Ellie peered inside before following her Kate deeper into the basement. The room was too dark to see anything, but she could tell when her aunt grabbed a large, industrial sized torch. The light turned on, revealing Derek Hale strapped to the wall, face deformed, teeth large, ears pointed.
As the three girls watched, he opened his mouth and roared.
a/n oh my god oh my god she knows about werewolves. she and allison both know about werewolves. EXCITEMENT. im ill so sorry if this is bad but ive been in a constant state of almost puke and puke so this was kind of hard
thanks for reading!