CHAPTER 29,
SUPERPOSITION
"What the hell is a Stiles?"
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THE MOON SHINES through the dark sky and down onto the lacrosse field. The floodlights providing a good amount of light to see around the place. She's seated on the grass at a safe distance away from Liam and Scott practicing these lacrosse, only joining them because she had nothing else to do. There's an odd feeling in her stomach as if she's forgotten or missing something, but she just keeps brushing it to one side with the thought of coming back to it later.
"Did you hear that?" Scott asks.
"Hear what?" Indiana questions.
"Never mind'. Let's get back to it, Liam." Scott says, throwing the lacrosse ball back to him.
"Or we could call it." Liam suggests.
"We gotta work on your back shots." Scott tells him.
"Why?" Liam questions.
"Liam, they suck." Scott bluntly replies.
"What are you talking about?" Liam asks.
"Your back shots, which suck." Scott repeats.
"I don't know what you're on about, they're better than yours." Indiana tells her brother.
Liam scoops a ball up with his lacrosse stick, swinging it behind his back and allowing the ball to be released to which it lands in the net perfectly. He continues to do this with the rest of the lacrosse balls, Scott not managing to save a single one.
"I must've been thinking of someone else." Scott says.
"Yeah. Maybe someone else who should be captain." Liam tells him.
"We'll make it." Scott reassures.
The floodlights begin to turn off one by one, indicating to the three that it's probably time they start heading home round about now. However, the two boys just allow their eyes to glow yellow/red and continue playing lacrosse in the dark.
"Something's happening to Mason." Liam blurts out.
The boys drop their lacrosse sticks as Indiana rises to her feet, the three of them running into the school where the push the hallway doors open. Searching around, they eventually find both Mason and Corey in the dim library.
"They were here, the Ghost Riders." Mason informs.
"Here? Just now?" Scott questions.
"I thought they left when the storm left." Liam says.
"I guess not because two of them were right up there." Mason replies, pointing to the spot to the stairs.
"What were they doing?" Indiana asks.
"We didn't see when they came in. We only saw them when we turned invisible." Mason explains.
"You brought him into this?" Liam asks, glaring over at Corey with annoyance.
"He was trying to protect me." Mason defends, protectively stepping in front of his boyfriend.
"Hey, Liam, it's okay." Indiana reassures, reaching out and pulling him backwards.
"They didn't seem to care about us. Th- They walked right by us." Corey informs, stuttering slightly due to fear.
"Then what happened?" Scott asks, the couple exchanging glances.
"Uh.. They just jumped down and left." Mason replies.
"Thats it?" Indiana questions.
"They didn't take someone? There was nobody else in here?" Scott adds.
"No, it was just us." Corey replies.
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Indiana lays in Liam's bed as she wears one of his shirts yet again, the boy himself seated at the end of his bed with his lacrosse stick in his hand. He only had sweatpants on, leaving his top half bare. He's twirling the stick around, the girl knowing that he's probably overthinking having to become captain.
"Hey, you'll make a good captain." Indiana tells him, shuffling over and hugging him from behind.
"Doesn't feel like I will be." Liam mumbles.
"I believe in you." Indiana says, kissing his cheek before pausing. "You know Corey didn't mean any harm today?"
"I don't want anything happening like him being the Beast again." Liam replies.
"That won't happen, we killed it, remember?" Indiana states.
Liam drops the lacrosse stick to the ground, turning around to face his girlfriend now. She gives him a small smile while intertwining their hands.
"I love you." Liam says.
"I love you too." Indiana replies.
The blond boy leans forwards, pressing his lips against hers as he places a supporting hand on her waist. His body begins to hover over hers as Indi's gently falls backwards so that her flat against the bed, their lips still connected.
"You're so beautiful, baby." Liam whispers against her lips.
The brunette blushes at his words, burying her face into his bare chest while her heart flutters at the use of the petname leaving his mouth. He just chuckles at her reaction, dropping back down onto the bed beside the girl before placing his head on her stomach. Her fingers begin to twirl around strands of his hair. His fingers begin to subconsciously draw patterns on her thigh just below where the shirt ends.
Indiana's always loved the soft side of Liam, everyone always getting to see the boy who gets angered quickly or the jock that is really good at lacrosse. The pack obviously see him as something more than that since they know him as a person, but around Indi the boy has a huge soft side and can he incredibly adorable sometimes.
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Indiana walks through the school hallways, passing by the boys locker room just in time for Liam to exit. His blue eyes immediately land on her, giving a small smile that the girl just knows is being forced.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Indiana asks.
"I shouldn't be captain. None of them team wants me, not even Coach." Liam replies.
"Liam, you're the only decent player on the time aside from Scott. They're all pinheads that are just obsessed with popularity." Indiana tells him.
"You're saying that because you want me to feel better." Liam mumbles.
"No, I'm saying it because I mean it." Indiana replies. "You first tried out for lacrosse because you liked it. Continue that hobby, Liam. It may be the only thing that distracts you from the supernatural at times."
"I don't know, Indi." Liam says.
"What was one of your dreams when you first joined lacrosse?" Indiana suddenly asks.
"I just wanted to have fun, but I wanted become captain at one point... I don't know though." Liam replies with uncertainty.
"Then live out your freshman dream." Indiana tells him. "Look, if you do become captain and end up disliking it, you can always drop out and they can appoint someone else."
"Thanks, Indi." Liam replies.
The brunette just smiles up at him, wrapping her arms around his middle and hugging him while the blond just holds her close. Mason comes walking around the corridor, hurrying over to where the two stand and causing them to pull away with Liam's hand lingering on her lower back.
"I can't stop thinking about it. They must've had someone up there. I mean, that's the only logical explanation." Mason tells them.
"How do you know?" Liam asks.
"Logic." Mason repeats. "And Corey has a hunch."
"What? Is that a chameleon thing?" Liam questions, scoffing. "I thought all they could do was disappear."
"Corey just wants to help." Mason states.
"Yeah, where was he when we were fighting a nine foot werewolf to save you? And why was he loyal to Theo for so long?" Liam continues.
The girl opens her mouth to calm him down but stops herself as she pauses at the sound of another heartbeat in the empty hallway with them.
"There was a time where we all trusted Theo, including you." Mason reminds.
"No, the guy's an idiot." Indiana says.
"I'll trust him when he does something trustworthy." Liam informs. "Unlike right now, when I can hear his heart racing from across the hallway."
The chimera appears from the nearby set of lockers, a guilty look on his face while Mason just sighs in frustration.
"What was I supposed to do to stop Sebastien? You guys have claws and fangs." Corey states.
"Liam, look, it's not like chameleons are the apex predator of the animal kingdom. All Corey can do is disappear." Mason informs, slightly regretting his word choice.
"Then maybe that's what he should do." Liam suggests.
"Liam." Indiana says, stepping in front of him and placing a hand on his chest. "He's just trying to help."
"If you want to be on their side then be in their side." Liam mumbles.
"It's not like that. He's not trying to hurt Mason." Indiana defends.
"Yeah, well, it's not like he's trying to protect him either." Liam fires back, pushing her hand away. "Leave me alone."
The blond boy turns on his heels and walks down the hallway with annoyance before disappearing around the corner. Indiana just sighs, shaking her head at him.
"Indi." Mason says, glancing over at the girl.
"I'm fine." Indiana replies.
"How is he supposed to trust you if you're hiding in the walls?" Mason asks his boyfriend.
"I already told you. Your friends aren't my friends. Why can't you just accept that?" Corey tells him.
"That might work for you guys, but that doesn't work for me." Mason informs.
"I'm okay with you, Corey." Indiana reassures.
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Indiana walks outside of the school, passing the door to the library where she finds Liam standing there. He must've got the message about Corey wanting to meet as well. The two haven't spoken since his and Corey's little argument, Indi wanting to give him the space he needs.
"I- I'm sorry, Indi." Liam apologises, his blue eyes locked on her brown ones. "I didn't mean to take it out on you, it's just everything is stressing me out right now."
"I'm just confused because I thought we spoke about it." Indiana says, crossing her arms to show her annoyance.
"We did, and again I'm sorry." Liam replies.
"Just try to give him a chance because if I were Mason this would bother me." Indiana informs, her arms dropping back to her side as she sighs.
"Yeah, I will." Liam replies.
The blond steps closer, placing a hand on her cheeks as the pad of his thumb gently brushes against her skin. Their eyes stay locked on one another, his gaze only shifting as he glances down at her lips.
"Promise." Indiana says. "I don't want Mason getting hurt because of this."
"Promise." Liam repeats.
The boy presses a gentle kiss on her forehead before pulling her into a hug, the smell of her shampoo filling his nose as his face rests beside her head. Liam knows Indiana is just trying to help and missed being around her throughout the rest of the day, but he knew she wasn't trying to ignore him but rather help him.
The sound of something creaking open is heard, the two breaking their hug to see Corey exiting a set of doors that sit opposite the library, taking in a shaky breath as he prepares himself to talk.
"Liam, I just want to tell you that I was wrong. I though we could hate each other and it wouldn't matter. But it does matter. It matters to Mason, and he matters to both of us." Corey states.
"I'm not trying to come between you." Liam tells him.
"Neither am I. But if we keep up like this, he might feel like he has to choose between us." Corey informs. "If we work together maybe we can sort things out. Maybe we could find something together."
"Like what?" Liam questions.
"Like a trace of them." Corey replies. "If you want to do this, hold my hand."
The two take the chimeras outstretched hands where the three turn invisible almost instantly, the surroundings turning a grass green colour and making the lightning look weirder. Corey leads them into the library, his hand still held in theirs.
"Do you know what we're looking for?" Indiana asks.
"If it's a book, we'll be here a while." Corey comments.
"Do you see that?" Liam asks, his eyes upstairs where a card is wedged into the fencing.
"Let go." Corey instructs, the blond doing so and reappearing to anyone that passes by. "Do you still see the card?"
"No, it's gone." Liam replies.
Corey then let's go of Indiana's hand, the girl reappearing beside Liam. The chimera stays invisible and makes his way upstairs of the library, coming into view at the top with the same card held in his hand.
"Can you see it now?" Corey asks.
"Yeah, I can." Liam replies.
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Mason now stands with the three in the library, almost shocked to find that Corey and Liam were working together to figure this out.
"It's just like in physics. It wasn't there until you saw it." Mason states. "Then it became real. It's Schrödinger's cat. The quantum state of superposition. To see something is to change it's very existence. It changed reality."
"I still don't get it." Corey says.
"What do you think it is?" Liam asks.
"It looks like one of the schools library cards but just blank." Indiana replies.
The brunette pauses as she glances at the library computer beside her, reaching forwards and taking the card from Mason. She then hurries around the desk, swiftly swiping the card with a beep and having the student ID appear on the screen.
"Jake Sullivan." Mason reads. "He was in the physics lab last night."
"I completely forgot about him." Corey says.
"Me too. Indi, we have Spanish with him." Liam reminds, picking the card back up to see it now has the ID.
"They erased him." Mason states.
"Your hunch was right." Liam tells the chimera.
Meanwhile, the four seniors had gone to Deaton for help about these weird memories that they've been having recently to which he's made Lydia use her banshee abilities to helm them. The strawberry blonde finally drops the pen after her biscuits scribbling, everyone in the room looking down to see 'mischief' written in letters.
"What does 'mischief' mean?" Malia asks.
"That's not what she wrote." Scott informs, looking down at the paper to see 'Stiles' written our.
"What the hell is a Stiles?" Lydia questions.