Laws of Nature [2]; Liam Dunbar

seven: operation: finding a chimera

Before she could get home and look into who Riley is, Marlow was called to Scott's house by Stiles. Apparently, Hayden was also a Chimera. She and the other kid that Scott and Malia found dead on the hospital roof with Stiles and Theo.

Hayden had locked herself in Scott's bathroom and refused to come out. Marlow had no idea why Stiles and Scott thought she was a good choice when it came to coaxing Hayden out of her hiding spot, but there she was.

She climbed up the steps to Scott's room, her heart starting to pound. She had wanted to put some time between the next face-to-face meeting between her and Liam, but even she knew that could never happen.

Now, she not only had to see him but she also had to see him and Hayden. When she realized that she had been standing in the hallway for too long, she finally walked up to the door and into the room with a faked confident look on her face. "Alright, let's do this."

Marlow walked up to the bathroom door, ignoring Liam's lingering gaze on her. She lightly knocked on the door. "Hayden, hey, it's Marlow," she said softly. This whole thing was new to Marlow. Hayden and she had never been on the friendliest terms. 

She didn't know how to approach the situation. Her female intuition told her to do it softly, but every other part of her screamed to just break down the door. But then Marlow heard Hayden's heartbeat through the door. She was terrified and Marlow didn't want to scare the girl more.

She sighed and leaned against the wall next to the door. "Hayden, I know this is scary. Trust me, I do. But something is happening to you. Something life-changing. You don't have to completely trust us but there are some things we have got to explain to you and we can't do that while you're locked inside the bathroom." she explained. Marlow had hoped that the softer tone would help.

"Maybe you should try harder," Stiles spoke up behind her. Marlow turned back to face him and if looks could kill, then Stiles Stilinski would be absolutely dead. He raised his hands defensively. "Sorry, I'll shut up."

Marlow nodded. "Yes, you will," she told him. She turned back to her and knocked on it harder. "Hayden, come on. Either you come out of that door or I will break it down. We won't hurt you, but we need to keep you safe."

Finally, the lock on the door clicked. It opened slightly and Marlow pushed open the door. Hayden stood in the bathroom, eyes glowing yellow, fangs and claws out. Marlow looked at her, eyes wide open. "I believe you."

----------

Marlow followed Mason around the library. She still wasn't sure what he was looking for but hanging out with him was better than making plans to keep Hayden safe with Scott and Stiles. She sighed as Mason went through the books on the shelves. "What is it?"

She shook her head. "Nothing. I'm good," she assured him. Mason turned to her. He gave her a knowing look and she rolled her eyes. She couldn't fool Mason. He saw right through her charades, every damn time. She threw her hands up in defeat. "Fine!"

She leaned against one of the bookshelves. "I don't know if I should be helping the others tonight," she admitted. Mason narrowed his eyes at her. Marlow knew the look on his face too well. He had always been intent on helping people, something that was important to her as well. But asking her to guard her ex's crush seemed too much, even for her.

"Because of Liam and Hayden? Marlow, that seems a little harsh, don't you think?" Mason finally asked. His tone wasn't accusatory. No, Mason only used that tone of voice when he was really pissed off. He sounded more surprised that Marlow was even thinking of disobeying one of Scott's orders.