chapter eleven
❝ but i'm catching you across the room ❞
formality
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Kennedy sits in a chair, eating a bag of popcorn. Deaton stands at the back counter of the room, and Scott laying unconscious on the metal table. Kennedy flipped through another page of her book, "So, like, are vampires real?" She asks, looking up from the Twilight novel. Deaton turns to look at her, saying nothing. Kennedy raises her brows, not wanting to truly know the answer before looking back at her book.
Suddenly, Scott sits up, looking around anxiously before springing onto his feet. Deaton walks over, helping him stand. "Welcome to the land of the conscious," Kennedy says, closing her book.
"You doing okay?" Deaton asks the teen wolf who looks around, breathing anxiously. "Maybe you should sit down, huh?" The sound of the entrance bell ringing causes the three to look over. "Hello?" Deaton calls out. Kennedy stands up, Deaton leading the way to the front of the store. She purses her lips when she sees Peter standing in front of her. "I'm sorry, but we're," Deaton observes the man, "We're closed."
Peter gives a warm fake smile. "Hi there. I'm here to pick up."
"I'm not sure I remember you dropping off." Deaton replies.
Kennedy walks out into the room, Peter looking right at her. "These ones wandered in on their own." Peter explains, stepping closer.
"Even if they did, I'm afraid I can't help you." Deaton gives a smile. "We're closed."
Peter steps closer, his hands behind his back. "Well, I think you can make an exception this one time, don't you?"
"I'm sorry. That's not going to be possible." Kennedy looks back into the room, seeing Scott sink down slowly. "Maybe you could come back during regular hours."
"You have something of mine. I'm here to collect it."
Deaton, however, despite how intimidating Peter is, doesn't budge. "Like I said; we're closed."
Peter walks to the gate, going to open it. He pauses, observing the wood closely. "Mountain ash. That's an old one." He smirks. Kennedy's eyes widen as Peter grabs a chair, throwing it to Deatons side. Kennedy jumps back, horrified. Deaton didn't even blink, to Kennedy's surprise.
"Let me be as clear as possible." Deaton hisses. "We, are, closed." Peter stares at Deaton for a long moment, adjusting his jacket. He stops at the door, murmuring something only Scott could hear. Kennedy purses her lips into a thin line, when Peter looks up at her.
"Remember, Kennedy," He says. Kennedy squints, not sure what he means, even now.
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"Call it again."
Stiles groans, sitting in Scott's desk chair. "It's not here."
Scott doesn't listen, and continues to scramble through his things. Kennedy lays across the bed, kicking her legs. "Okay, so you lost your phone; we can just get you a new one?" She offers, her brown hair cascading over her shoulders.
"I can't afford a new one." Scott huffs. "And I can't do this alone. We have to find Derek."
Stiles sits up, "Well, A, you're not alone. You have us." He says, pointing to himself and Kennedy. "And B, didn't you say Derek walked into gunfire? He sounds pretty dead." Kennedy purses her lips sadly, missing the slightly annoying Hale.
Scott pauses, "Argent's plan was to use him to get to the Alpha, they're not gonna kill him."
"All right, so then just let them do what they're planning, you know?" Pants fly back towards them, landing in Kennedys face. "They use Derek to get Peter, problem solved."
"Not if Peter's going after Allison to find Derek!" Kennedy sighs, looking at Stiles as they listen to Scotts rant. "I can't protect her on my own. Which means we either find Derek first, just, just help me!"
Stiles groans, "You know, you probably lost it when you two were fighting. You remember that, when he was trying to kill you, after you interrupted him trying to kill Jackson?" Kennedy now thinks about Jackson, who had changed so much in her eyes since the breakup. "Are you starting to see a pattern of violent behavior here?"
"He wasn't going to kill anyone." Scott explains, "And I'm not letting him die."
Stiles sighs, "Could you at least think about letting him die? For me?" Kennedy sends him a glare when Scott suddenly looks up. "What?"
"My Mom just got home from work."
Kennedy and Stiles stop doing what they're doing, letting the McCall boy listen to his mom. A sad look is on Scotts face, "Is she okay?" Stiles asks. Scott shakes his head, saying nothing. "What is she doing?" Scott is quiet for a moment, causing Kennedy to sit up.
"Crying."
Scott moves to his bed, sitting next to Kennedy in defeat. "Scott, you can't always protect everyone," The brunette tries to explain, looking up at him.
Her best friend looks over, "I have to." He mutters. Scott looks up, "Plus, we have to find out what Peter means when he yells at her to remember?"
Stiles nods, "Is that all he says?" The boy looks at Kennedy, "Like, does he say a single other thing?"
"No, all he says is Remember." She explains. "Like, I have never seen this guy in my life!" She groans, falling off the bed.
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"Hey, what time should I pick you up for the dance tomorrow?"
Allison shuts her locker, looking over at Jackson. "Are you okay?"
"Yeah, I, I'm great. I'm just excited to go to the formal. With you. As friends." He looks past her, eyeballing Scott and Stiles. "Just friends."
Stiles pats his friend on the shoulder. "Hey, don't worry. I'll still be there."
Scott shakes his head. "I'm still going." He mutters.
"Is that such a good idea? Do you even have a date?"
Scott nods, "Yeah, actually, I do."
Stiles frowns, "Wait, who?" He asks.
"Me."
The two boys turn around, Kennedy standing in front of them with a bored look. "Wait, what?" Stiles utters out, confused.
"Scott needs a way into the formal without getting caught, I can help with that." Kennedy explains. "I'll find you on the inside, and I'll spike the punch for you, okay?"
Stiles looks over, "Do you have a suit?"
"Not yet."
"Do you have a ticket to the formal? A ride there?"
Kennedy leans forward. "I can provide both," She reasons.
Stiles nods slowly, "So you're gonna go to a dance that you're not even allowed to go to with one of the hottest girls from school without a suit, or a real way in with werewolves and werewolf hunters all out to kick your little werewolf ass." He recites. looking between the two.
Scott looks down at Kennedy, who gives a closed mouth smile. "Yeah. You gonna help me?"
"Hell, yeah."
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Allison shakes her head at her two friends. "Nothing's wrong, I just, I have a lot on my mind." She explains.
Lydia shrugs, "You could smile, at least. Ever heard of the saying, Never frown. Someone could be falling in love with your smile?" Allison looks around the Macy's store. "Smile, Allison. Kennedy and I are buying you a dress."
"Have to admit as far as apologies go, that's more than I expected." Allison hums to the strawberry blond.
"Excellent."
Allison looks over. "But not as much as I'm going to ask."
Kennedy looks over, watching Lydia frown. "What? What's that supposed to mean?" She asks.
"It means you're going to cancel on whatever dumb, roided-up jock you said yes to and you're going to go with somebody else."
Lydia and Kennedy follow the Argent off the escalator. "Who?"
Allison slowly turns, "Him." Kennedy's smile falls as her eyes land on Stiles. He's sniffing a bottle of perfume, letting out a sneeze. Kennedy involuntarily smiles, giggling at his clumsy actions. Lydia purses her lips into a thin line, not excited. "Don't frown, Lydia. Someone could be falling in love with your smile."
Stiles looks over, waving awkwardly as Kennedy walks by. "Did you know about this?" Stiles asks her.
"No, I just found out," Kennedy whispers. "Why? Aren't you excited?"
The Stilinski shakes his head, "No, actually, I'm not." He mutters. "I wanted to hang out at the dance with my two best friends," His shoulders slump as he and Kennedy follow the other two girls into the section.
"Before we do anything," Lydia pulls out her phone, shoving it to Stiles. "Take a picture of us." She demanded. Stiles looked at Kennedy, who shrugged. Kennedy stood in between the Argent and the Martin, flashing her perfect smile. The three girls giggles as Stiles awkwardly took the picture. "I'll have this printed and sent to you both asap." Lydia winked, causing them all to laugh. Lydia grabs Stiles, pulling him away from Kennedy completely.
Allison sighs, "Poor Stiles," She mumbles, "Come on," The Argent pulls Kennedy along, the two skimming through the isles of dresses.Allison picks up a red and white dress, looking at herself in the mirror. Kennedy slowly moves away from Allison, seeing Stiles awkwardly standing by the dressing rooms.
"Why don't you have a dress picked out?" Stiles asks, noticing her empty hands.
The girl sighs, "I think I'm just gonna wear the same dress I wore last year," She confesses.
Stiles's mouth drops. "Uh, no, no you're not." He places Lydia's pile of dresses down, grabbing Kennedy by her wrist and pulling her down the isles. "Kenny, you are buying the prettiest dress in here, and you are going to literally make every boy in Beacon Hills fall in love with you." He rambles, throwing his hands around.
Kennedy sighs, "Stiles, I'm already buying Scotts suit and half of Allisons dress, I don't have-" She stops talking, watching as Stiles half-hazardly pulls out his wallet, holding up his card. "Stiles, no-"
"I'm buying you a damn dress." He orders, "Now get your beautiful ass to the dressing room,"
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Kennedy lets out a loud sigh, ringing the doorbell to the McCall house. Melissa is the one who opens it. "Kenny!" Melissa beams, leading her inside. Kennedy's hair is in beautiful curls that bounce as she walks in. "You look beautiful, honey,"
"Thank you, Ms. McCall," Kennedy smiles softly. "I was worried it was too much."
Melissa rolls her eyes. "Even if it was, you'd still be the most beautiful girl there." Kennedy giggles, placing her hands at her sides.
"Kenny?" The girl looks up, seeing Scott slowly walk down the stairs. His eyes are soft as he looks at his best friend. Though, he had been totally in love with her not so long ago, he didn't feel that now. In fact, he only felt proud of the person she had became in the years they've known one another. "You look, wow," Kennedy looks down, blush spreading across her cheeks.
"Okay, okay! I want pictures!" Melissa orders. Kennedy and Scott laugh, expecting nothing more. The pair stand in front of the door, Scotts hand wrapped around her waist as they smile at the camera.
The two reach the school rather quickly, "Okay, so how are we getting in?" Kennedy asks awkwardly.
Scott groans, "The roof," He says, pointing up.
Kennedy's jaw drops, "You're kidding, right?" The two teens peer up at the building. The teenage girl thinks of how she could possible get up there, in heels. Pursing her lips, Kennedy turns, "I'll just take the front door." She whispers, walking away from him.
Stiles pulls up in his jeep with Lydia, and he stops for a moment, watching his best friend walk by. Lydia looks up, watching his gaze follow Kennedy. "You like her, don't you?" Stiles chokes on air, looking over at the strawberry blond.
"W-what?" He stutters. Lydia sighs, placing her clutch in her lap.
"As if it's not obvious enough you're the one she slept with over the summer," Stiles practically falls over inside his car. "I can tell how you feel by the way you look at her." Lydia explains, a soft smile on her lips. "Why don't you just tell her?"
The Stilinski sighs, shrugging awkwardly. "Kennedy and I have been friends since we were 10. I met her at the hospital. I was visiting my mom, and Kennedy was waiting for her dad to pick her up. We both knew Scott, and talked about him the entire time until I had to leave." Lydia smiles at the story, turning to look at Kennedy as she talks to Danny by the entrance. "Kennedy is one of the only people, other than Scott, who has been there when I needed her most. Telling her risks losing that, and losing everything." Stiles takes the key out of the ignition, looking at Lydia with an unsure look on his face.
Inside, Kennedy repeatedly glances around the room, squeezing through the dancing bodies. The live music blares in her ears, and she almost wonders if she should've stayed home. "Ken!" She spins around, Scott jogging over. "Have you found everyone?"
Kennedy looks around, "I see Jackson, and-" Both teens find Peter Hale in the crowd at the same time. "What is Peter doing at a school dance?" Kennedy asks lowly.
"Probably not chaperoning," Scott mumbles. Grabbing Kennedy's wrist, the two rush up the bleachers to try and find him again. Kennedy looks around, seeing Allison by Jackson, Stiles and Lydia sitting by one another, and no Peter near by.
"When you ended up being my forced date to a school dance, I expected more school dance things," She groans, sitting down next to Scott. Eventually, they watch Lydia and Stiles go to the dance floor.
Kennedy smiles, feeling happy that her friends were having a good time. "Uh, Ken, we might need to run,"
"What? Why?"
"McCall!" Coach's voice echos in her ears, and Kennedy curses under her breath, running after Scott down the bleachers. "Come here buddy!" The two take advantage of the crowd, hiding behind a curtain.
Kennedy looks up, "What's the plan?" She asks.
Scott looks around, "You're his favorite student, right?" Kennedy pauses for a moment, but nods. "Can you pretend to be my actual date for 2 seconds?"
Sighing, Kennedy takes Scotts hand, "At least I get to dance a little," She mutters. Allison looks over, watching them rush to the floor. Kennedy looks around, "Ready to see some acting skills!?" She yells loud enough for Allison to hear. The Argent laughs, now intrigued on how Kennedy was going to get Coach to let Scott stay. Kennedy turns back, her lip quivering, tears rolling down her cheeks.
"Woah, why are you crying?" Scott asks, confused. Kennedy winks, and he realizes its an act.
Coach storms over, "McCall, you know you're not supposed to-" The coach stops, looking between the crying girl and the teenage boy. "What the hell are you doing?"
Kennedy sniffles, "Scott, I never thought you'd ask me to be your girlfriend," She cries, causing Allison to giggle. "I thought that after everything that has tried to keep us apart, you'd give up!"
Scott looks around nervously, and Kennedy pinches his arm to get him to focus. "Kenny, I'd never give up on you," He blandly states, "You're not only my best friend, but my soulmate. No matter what comes between us, I'll love you forever," The crowd awes as the pair hug tightly. For only a moment, Kennedy's crying facade falls.
"Did you get that from a movie?"
"Didn't you?" Asks Scott.
"Read it online," She mutters. The crowd is still awing at the two, the Coach stuttering in confusion. "Sorry for this,"
Before Scott can even ask, Kennedy pulls away, smashing her lips on his for dramatic effect. Allison's jaw drops, and she almost squeals at how believable Kennedy was being. Stiles and Lydia watch in confusion. "Okay, I see why you like her," Lydia hums in thought. Stiles stutters in agreement.
The focus turned onto Coach, who had seemingly attempted to stop the apparent love birds from connecting. "You guys don't think-" Kennedy pulls away from Scott, looking at Coach with her blue puppy eyes. "I, just dance everybody!" He excuses, shooing everyone off. When he's out of sight, the pair of friends pull away from each other, wiping their hands over their lips.
"That was gross," Kennedy mumbles.
"Agreed," Scott says, looking up at her. "Never again?"
Kennedy nods, "Unless I'm being kidnapped and need to pretend I'm the one with the hot werewolf boyfriend." She retorts, causing Scott to laugh. He moves away from her, heading to Allison who stands not too far away. She smiles softly, looking around as all of her friends are dancing together, having a great night.
"Kennedy Dawn, you look absolutely beautiful," The brunette turns around, seeing Stiles standing in front of her. She smiles softly, brushing her hands over her dress. "Would you like to dance with me?"
The teenage girl smiles softly, "Of course," She hums, taking his hand. The two slowly walk to the middle of the dance floor. Stiles feels his heart race as her arms loop around his neck, and he instinctively wraps his own arms around her waist. "So, how's your date?"
Stiles groans. "I wish it was more eventful." He chimes, the two moving swiftly over the floor. "You know, I've been thinking about the last two months, how much has changed." Kennedy nods, "And I just can't believe we're still, like, best friends."
Kennedy giggles, looking down. "Stiles, I don't think there's anything that can stop me from being friends with you." She explains. Stiles's heart races for just a moment at her comment. "You've always been there for me. I think I'd go crazy if you weren't my friend." He gives her a small smile as she looks around. "So, where did Lydia go?"
"She's looking for Jackson," He says to her, admiring her facial features. Her perfect, beautiful, facial features.
Kennedy pauses, "Wait, but I just saw Jackson," She whispers. The two stop dancing, and Kennedy looks around. "I'll be right back, I'm going to find Scott." She pulls away, walking out of the gym. Stiles sighs, knowing that their moment was over.
Outside, Scott looks on either side of him, seeing two cars. Chris Argent sits in one, and one of his hunter pals in the other. Kennedy runs over, her eyes wide. "Scott!" She screams. A surge of adrenaline floods her body as both cars rev their engines. It's like something in Kennedy is screaming at her to run, so she does. As the cars step on their gas pedals, Kennedy pushes her body quickly towards them. Scott jumps in the air, landing on top of the hoods. Kennedy swiftly jumps on the back of the silver car, landing on the roof. She lands on her knee, looking over at Scott. He slowly looks up, his face in wolf form. Kennedy's face is emotionless, until she looks at the bus to her side. And she's horrified when she realizes Allison is standing inside.