章 8: Heart Monitor
Scott and Scarlett were just finishing up the grocery shopping. They both had their hands full as they were walking through the parking garage, trying to remember where they parked. "Click the alarm, it will be faster than walking in circles." Scarlett says to her twin.
Scott nods then gently puts the bags on the ground, pulling out the keys and setting the car alarm off. While listening for the beep, a bottle of milk rolled out of one of the bags, moving under a car.
Scott sighs then kneels to grab the milk, feeling blindly under the car. Before he finds anything, the bottle rolls back as milk spurts on the pavement from punctured holes in its side.
The bottle slowly stops as Scott gets off the ground and makes eye contact with Scarlett. "RUN"
She drops the bags and runs; Scott and Scarlett move in different directions. After a couple of minutes of running, Scarlett pauses to catch her breath. She's hiding behind a parked SUV. She looks through the windows trying to see if the Alpha is following her, or if she can find Scott.
Scarlett can feel her heart pounding but can't see or hear anything else. She slowly leans around the cat and quietly moves around the parking garage keeping a lookout for anything dangerous.
To her right, she starts hearing the sound of multiple car alarms. She takes off running again, trying to find Scott. She knows he has to be close to the cars but far enough away where he won't be found.
As Scarlett runs in the direction of the car, she can just make out the sound of a cell phone ringing. She turns the corner just in time to see Derek reach down and pull Scott out of his hiding place.
Scar takes a deep breath as she slows down, walking over to the two werewolves. As she approaches, Scott is brushing Derek's hands off of his jacket, "What the hell was that?" Scott snaps.
"Yeah, I would kinda like to know that too," Both turn to Scar.
Then Derek answers, "I said I was going to teach you. I didn't say when."
"You scared the crap out of us." Scott replies.
Derek sniffs the air, "Not yet" he deadpans.
Scar tries to hide a smile, "Was that a joke?"
They both ignore her as Scott continues, "Well, I was fast, right?"
"Not fast enough." Derek answers.
"But the car alarms. That was smart, right?"
"Until your phone rang."
"Look on the bright side, your phone ringing distracted him from me." Scar brightly smiles.
Scott sighs, "Would you just stop? Please?"
Derek pauses and turns to face Scott, waiting for him to speak. "What happened the other night... Stiles's dad getting hurt. It was my fault. I should have been there to do something. I need you to teach me how to control this."
"I'm what I am because of birth. You were bitten. Teaching someone who was bitten takes time. I'm not even sure I can teach you."
Scott takes a breath, "What do I have to do?"
"Get rid of distractions" Derek grabs Scott, pulling out his phone and turns it around to show the display that says there is a missed call from Allison. "This is why I caught you. You want me to teach you? Get rid of her."
Scott looks shocked and angry, "What? Just because of her family?"
Derek then throws the phone, breaking it. Scarlett's jaw drops as she look on in shock. "Getting angry? That's your first lesson. Do you want to learn how to control this? How to shift? You do it through anger. By tapping into a primal, animal rage. You can't do that with her around."
Scott has his teeth clenched as he speaks, "I can get angry."
"Not angry enough. This is the only way I can teach you. Can you stay away from her at least until after the full moon?"
"If that's what it takes,"
Derek interrupts him, "Do you want to live? Do you want to protect your friends," He glances at me, "your family? Yes or no?"
"Yes. If you can teach me, I can stay away from her."
Scarlett nods, "I'll keep an eye on him."
*_*_*_*_*_*
Scarlett was in her room texting Nate when she heard Scott's door slam shut and not even a minute later he screamed. She quickly stood up and rushed through their shared bathroom and into his room just in time to hear him tell Derek, "You seriously need to stop doing that."
"What happened? Did he talk to you?" Derek replies, ignoring Scott's comment.
"Woah what? The Alpha? How do you know it's a guy?" Scarlett says, trying to piece together the conversation.
Both guys ignore her, only sparing her a quick glance. She rolls her eyes in response, clearly getting used to being ignored. "Yeah, we had a nice conversation about the weather." Scott sarcastically replies.
Scarlett moves out of the bathroom to sit on Scott's bed as he continues, "No. He didn't talk."
"Did you get anything off of him? An impression?" Derek asks.
"What do you mean?"
"Pretty sure he's talking about your other senses. I mean they are heightened now, use them to your advantage." Scarlett states.
Derek nods, "Communication doesn't have to be spoken. What kind of feeling did you get from him?"
Scott pauses to think, "Anger."
"Focused on you?"
"Not me. But definitely anger. I could feel it. Especially when he drew the spiral."
"He drew a spiral?" Scar questioned, knitting her eyebrows together.
She looked at Derek, trying to read his reaction as Scott spoke, "Yeah. In the condensation. What? You have this look like you know what it means."
"It's nothing." Derek brushes off.
Derek goes to open the door causing Scarlett to scoff, "That face says otherwise. You know, you can't ask us to trust you and then just keep things to yourself. Trust is a two-way street."
Derek is adamant, "It doesn't mean anything."
Scott prompts, "You buried your sister under a spiral. What does it mean?"
Derek hesitates, thinking about telling us then answers, "You don't want to know." He then leaves the room as Scott and Scar glance at each other. Scarlett slowly stands up, heading back to her room.
*_*_*_*_*_*
Scarlett was at lunch talking with Allison and Lydia. Allison was telling the two girls about her history project and The Beast of Gevaudan. "The what of who?" Lydia questions, clearly confused.
"The Beast of Gevaudan. Listen..." Allison then flips through the pages of one of her books and reads,
"A quadrupled wolf-like monster prowling the Auvergne and South Dordogne areas of France during the years 1764 to 1767. La Bete killed over 100 people, becoming so infamous that the king, Louis XV, sent one of his best hunters to try to kill it."
"Boring" Lydia states.
"I think it's kinda interesting, but it is obviously fiction. I mean c'mon. A wolf-like monster." Scarlett says.
Allison continues reading, "Even the Church eventually declared the monster a messenger of Satan."
"Still boring," Lydia pipes up.
"Cryptozoologists believe it may have been a sub-species of a hoofed predator, possibly Mesonychid,"
"Slipping into a coma bored," Scar gently elbows Lydia, who purses her lips in response.
"While others believe it was a powerful sorcerer who could shape-shift into a man-eating monster."
"Does any of this have anything to do with your family?" Lydia asks.
"Yeah, I'm confused too. Didn't you say this was for your history class?" Scarlett adds.
Allison smiles then continues to read, "It is believed La Bete was finally trapped and killed by a renowned hunter who claimed his wife and four children were the first to fall prey to the creature. The hunter's name was Argent."
Lydia speaks, unimpressed, "Your ancestors killed a big wolf. So what?"
"Not just a big wolf. Look at this picture. What's it look like to you?" Allison replies, flipping the page around to reveal a drawing of the monster to Lydia and Scarlett. The beast stands on two legs, enshrouded in mist, with red eyes and sharp claws. The bodies of women and children lie at its feet, looks of pure terror are etched on their faces.
As the girls study the picture Lydia finally answers Allison's question, "It looks. Like a big. Wolf. See you in History." She gets up and walks away without another word.
Allison looks at Scar, "Do you think it looks like just a big wolf?"
Scarlett glances at the picture once more and sighs, "It looks like a classic werewolf. But Allison, it was obviously just a big wolf, or something similar. I mean these mythological creatures come from our history. Take mermaids, for example, they are really just manatees and dugongs. It's how they got their scientific name Sirenia."
Allison nods, "Yeah, I know. But it's still cool to think that my family had a part in a classic myth like this."
She goes back to reading her book as Scarlett stands up to throw away her unwanted food.
*_*_*_*_*_*
As Scarlett makes her way to the library, she hears her name get called out. She stops and looks over her shoulder to see Nate jogging to catch up with her. She smiles, "Hey, sorry I haven't been able to spend more time with you. Scott's been going through some stuff and I've been helping him."
"Really? Is it just Scott?" Nate replies.
"Well, Lydia too. With that whole thing with her and Jackson. I've been wanting to make sure she was okay."
"So just Scott and Lydia?"
"Um, yeah?" Scarlett raises her eyebrow, "Why? Should there be anything else?"
"I don't know. You tell me." Nate sounds accusing like Scar did something wrong.
She stops to think about what she could have done in the last few days to see if there is a reason why he would be angry at her, "I'm not following... Did I do something wrong?" She asks.
"Well, I've seen you with a guy that I don't know, twice here at the school." Scarlett knits her eyebrows together unsure who he's talking about. "I think he's older. The first time I saw you two together you were both getting into Stiles' jeep. The second time he was talking to you by your locker."
Scarlett sighs, realizing that he's talking about Derek, "That's nothing, he's Stiles' cousin. I've only seen him a few times, always with other people. Except for that time in the hallway, he was just asking where Stiles was." Scar pauses her explanation, narrowing her eyes, "Wait, are you accusing me of cheating?"
"Well, what did you expect? You're hanging around a guy that I don't know and you're not telling me about it. On top of that, you're being secretive. We haven't hung out in days." Nate rants.
Scarlett scoffs, "What do I expect? I expect you to trust me! I know I've been M.I.A. the past few days but I just explained why to you. I didn't tell you about Stiles' cousin because he's not important. Don't you dare accuse me of cheating! I would never do that, the thought wouldn't even cross my mind."
She turns to walk away but before she makes it far Nate's hand is tugging on her wrist, "Babe, I'm sor--"
Scar cuts him off, "Don't. I don't want to even look at you right now." She yanks her hand out of his grasp. After a few steps, she turns back around, "And an 'I'm sorry' isn't going to cut it. For you to even think I would do that..." She trails off as she shakes her head then continues down the hall.
*_*_*_*_*_*
Scarlett walks into econ to head to her usual seat beside Stiles. As the other students enter the room Coach starts talking, "Sit down. Sit, sit, sit. Lots to cover."
As Scott sits in his usual seat and watches as Stiles goes to sit in between us he speaks up, "No Stiles. Take the seat behind me. Stiles,"
He gets cut off as Allison takes the empty seat behind him. She then leans over to talk to Scott, "Hey, I haven't seen you all day."
"Oh, sorry? I've been super busy." Scott replies.
They continue talking for a little bit as Stiles leans over to tell me about their test with Coaches' heart monitor during their free period. Coach then smacks a book on his desk to get the class's attention. Scarlett's head snaps to the front of the room as the coach begins.
"All right, settle down. Let's start with a quick summary of last night's reading. Greenberg, put your hand down. Everybody knows you did the reading. How about..." His eyes search the room and land on Scott, "McCall."
Scarlett quickly asks, "Which one?" knowing that Scott didn't do the reading. Coach glances at her, almost like he forgot she was in the class.
"Uh, Scott. Summarize last night's reading." Coach replies.
Scott hesitates, "I forgot." He looks uncomfortable.
"Okay, then. Nice work. Because it's not like you're averaging a D in this class. You do know that I can't keep you on the team with a D, McCall?"
He waits for Scott to say something as a few of the students giggle. Scarlett turns in her seat throwing a glare over her shoulder at the students.
Coach continues when there is no answer, "How about you summarize the previous night's reading? No? How about the night before? How about you summarize anything you've ever read? In your entire life."
Scott is getting flustered, Scarlett looks towards Stiles who has Coach's phone out, tracking Scott's heart rate. It's continuing to rise and Scarlett's only thought is that this is not going to end well.
"Anything at all. A blog? The back of a cereal box? The adults-only warning on your favorite website." When he still gets no answer the coach continues in disappointment, "Thank you, McCall. Thank you for extinguishing every last flicker of hope I have for your generation. Next practice you start with suicide runs."
The class laughs as Stiles and Scarlett keep their eyes locked on the phone. Quickly, Scott's heart rate starts dropping back to normal. Stiles and Scar glance at each other then look towards Scott to see Allison holding his hand under the desks.
*_*_*_*_*_*
After class, Stiles and Scarlett quickly rush after Scott. When we catch up, Stiles speaks, "It's her."
"What do you mean?" Scott questions.
Scarlett explains, "It's Allison. Do you remember what you told us about the night of the full moon? You were thinking about her. About protecting her."
Scott nods along, still unsure of what the two teens are trying to say.
Stiles continues where Scar left off, "So remember the first lacrosse game? You said you could hear her voice out on the field."
"Yeah. I did." He nods again.
Scar takes over, explaining, "That's what brought you back so you could score. And then in the locker room, you didn't kill her. At least not like you were trying to kill Stiles that one time. She brings you back."
Scott pauses as he thinks, "But it's not always true. Because literally every time I'm kissing her or touching her,"
Stiles cuts him off, "That's not the same. When you're doing that you're just another hormonal teenager thinking about sex. See, you're thinking about sex right now. Aren't you?"
Scar instantly starts shaking her head and rolling her eyes at Scott's dazed expression. He snaps back into reality and apologizes as Stiles continues, "Now when she was holding your hand in class, it was different. I don't think she makes you weak..."
Scarlett finishes, "We think she actually gives you control. Think of her as an anchor."
Scott nods in understanding, "You mean because I love her."
Scar's eyes slightly widened at his words. Scott himself looks surprised that he said it out loud. "Did I just say that?" He asks.
"You just said that," Scarlett confirms.
"I love her."
His twin smiles along, though Stiles ruins the moment, "That's great. Moving on," before he can continue Scott speaks up again.
"No, I do. I really do. I think I'm totally in love with her."
"And that's beautiful. Before you go off and write a sonnet can we figure this out? Because you obviously can't be around her all the time."
Finally, Scott focuses, "Okay, what do I do?"
Stiles starts pacing as he thinks. "You're getting an idea, aren't you?" Scarlett asks.
"Yeah."
"Could this idea get me in trouble?" Scott asks.
"Maybe."
"Is this idea going to cause me physical pain?"
"Definitely."
Scar bites her lip, already hating this idea, even though she doesn't actually know what it is. The twins follow Stiles outside to the parking lot. Nearby is a group of seniors, laughing and smoking by their trucks.
Stiles pulls Scott to a certain spot, "Over here."
"What are we doing?" Scar asks, her voice laced with concern.
"You'll see. Stand right here, Scott. Do you have your keys?" Scott takes out his keys, showing Stiles, "Hold them up. Now, whatever happens I want you to think about Allison. Find her voice like you did at the game? Got it?"
Scott nods as Scar realizes what Stiles' plan is. She takes a deep breath and lets her head fall into her hands. Stiles continues speaking, "Good. Keep holding the keys. Scar, follow me."
Stiles then walks over to the Senior's truck, takes out his own car keys and drags them along the truck, effectively scratching the paint, Scarlett follows behind. Once he finishes and puts his keys away he loudly yells at Scott, "Dude. What do you think you're doing to that truck?"
The seniors turn around to see Scott holding his keys. Scott steps back and tries to hide his keys but fails miserably as the seniors start to make their way over to him. They quickly start beating him up as Scarlett's hand flies to her mouth and Stiles and her watch the heart monitor.
A few moments later, Mr. Harris comes around the corner and breaks up the fight. The seniors take off leaving Stiles and Scarlett looking at the heart monitor and Scott bloody, lying on the ground.
Scott sits up and turns to Stiles and Scarlett as Stiles shows him the phone. Displayed on the screen is a normal, steady heartbeat.
*_*_*_*_*_*
Scott, Stiles and Scarlett sit in the empty Chemistry classroom as Mr. Harris grades papers. Harris decided to give all three teenagers detention, despite the seniors being the ones to beat Scott up.
Scott speaks, breaking the silence, "Excuse me, sir. I know it's detention and all, but I'm supposed to be at work. And I don't want to get fired."
Harris, of course, ignores him, not caring that he has work.
Scott then leans over to Stiles, talking about what happened. Scarlett chooses not to listen and instead continues to do her homework and think about the fight she had with Nate earlier. She is still surprised that he would think she would cheat on him.
After a few more minutes of silence, Harris finally speaks up, "All right, You three can go. Out of here."
They quickly grab their things and head out of the building.
*_*_*_*_*_*
Scarlett was with Stiles at his place finishing the homework she started in detention. She was laying on his bed while he was working at his desk. While they worked she told him about her argument with Nate, "Do you think it's stupid, that I'm angry with him?"
"Not at all, I would be angry too if someone accused me of cheating."
Scar nods her head and bites her lip, unconvinced that she had a reason to be mad. "I feel stupid for being mad at him. I mean, I'm pissed he jumped to conclusions but I also understand feeling jealous."
"Scar," Stiles sighed. He stood up and walked towards his bed sitting beside her, he slowly placed his hand on her shoulder, "You have the right to be angry that he accused you of cheating. That's more than just being jealous. And anyone who knows you knows that you would never do that. Your feelings are valid."
Scar slowly smiled then sat up pulling Stiles into a tight hug. His arms wrapped around her waist as she whispered, "Thanks, you always know what to say."
Before he could say anything back, his bedroom door burst open and the two teens sprung apart.
"Sorry... Am I interrupting something?" Scott asks, looking between his sister and best friend.
"Uh no. What do you need?" Stiles gulps, rubbing his hands on his jeans.
*_*_*_*_*_*
As the three teenagers arrive at the school and get out of the jeep, Stiles says, "This is a terrible idea."
"Couldn't agree more..." Scar mumbles.
"Are we seriously going to do this?"
"Can either of you think of something better?" Scott asks with just a small glimmer of hope in his brown eyes.
"Personally, I'm a big fan of ignoring a problem and hoping it goes away," Stiles replies as Scar just shakes her head.
"Just make sure we can get inside."
Stiles then yanks out a pair of bolt cutters just as a pair of headlights approach. Derek's Camaro parks in a nearby space, he kills the engine and steps out from behind the wheel. As the three approach him Scott asks, "Where's my boss?"
"In the back." Derek walks over pulling the door open allowing us to look inside.
Deaton is bound, gagged, and blindfolded. "Comfy." Scar deadpans as she crosses her arms across her chest.
She turns to look at Scott and Stile, "I'm going to wait out here, the school is creepy at night."
As the two brunettes make their way over to the dark, empty school Derek turns to Scar, "Where are they going?"
She sighs, "You said that Scott is linked with the Alpha. He wants to see if you're right." She pauses, "You'll understand in a minute."
As Derek and Scarlett wait outside, standing by his car they hear a very pathetic attempt at a howl ringing over the PA system. Derek slowly moves his eyes away from Deaton and locks them on the school, "You gotta be kidding me..."
A few moments later a powerful howl blasts through the PA system causing Scarlett's jaw to drop, impressed that he could actually do it. Derek looks impressed but definitely not happy.
He turns to look at Scarlett with a clenched jaw as she raises her hands, "Don't look at me."
The moment Scott and Stiles step out of the school Derek speaks, "I'm going to kill the two of you myself. Are you trying to attract the entire state to this school?"
"I didn't know it would be that loud" Scott tries to defend.
"It was loud. And it was awesome." Stiles says, clearly happy with the howl.
"I said it was a bad idea but nobody ever listens to Scarlett," Scar recrosses her arms, looking towards the three guys standing in front of her.
Scott's eyes linger on Derek's car. Derek and Scar follow his eyes and see that Deaton is now missing, "What did you do with him?"
"We didn't do anything," Derek replies.
He doesn't get the chance to continue because the next moment he jerks forward. Blood spurts from his mouth as he rises into the air, held aloft by something dark and large.
Scarlett is frozen in place, looking at Derek. Stiles pulls her hand, tugging her away from Derek and the Alpha. The three stumble as they run, watching in horror as Derek's body is thrown and slams into the brick wall of the school.
Tripping over their feet, the three teens race to the school. The two boys let Scarlett in before them, then they quickly yank the double doors shut. Holding them closed, they try to catch their breath as a shadow with glowing red eyes emerges from where they were just standing.
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