Hoping for Heroes

Chapter 7

Harley rolls over when she hears her phone buzzing incessantly. She groans as she swipes to accept the call, bringing the phone to her ear.

"What?" she groans.

"Lovely to hear from you too," Stiles' voice rings out.

"Nope." Harley presses end call and rolls over to try and get some more sleep. She didn't get the chance though, because Stiles kept calling until she answered again. "What the everloving hell do you want now Stiles?"

"You hung up on me!"

"You deserved it!"

"Please just meet us, we need your help. I'll text you the address." He hangs up before she can respond, and she tumbles out of bed, grumbling.

"Oh, I know you just got hurt for us yesterday, Harley, but I just cannot handle things by myself despite my werewolf best friend because I am simply that incompetent!"

She huffs. "Suck it, Stilinski."

Less than an hour later, Harley is standing next to Scott outside of a police van where the boys have trapped Jackson and are keeping him in the woods. "This is so wrong on so many levels. And I'm hungry!"

Scott just stares at her. "Why didn't you eat, then?"

"I didn't have time!"

Scott frowns. "You could've grabbed food before you left. We didn't mean to make you skip breakfast. I'm sorry."

Harley is startled. "Scott, I wasn't actually-" Before she can finish, Stiles comes tumbling out of the van.

"Stiles!" Scott yells. "Give Harley the other sandwich!" Stiles tosses her the sandwich, which she catches.

"Uh, thanks?" she shakes her head. "Guys, I gotta get to school. I can come by later if you need me."

"Wait!" Scott grabs her arm before she can leave. "Why do you smell like blood?"

Stiles gasps. "It is that time of the month!"

"Stilinski, I may murder you," Harley hisses. "Isaac nicked me last night, but I'm okay, Scott. Remember, just let me know if you need me." Scott frowns again, but lets her go.

"She's kind of cool," Scott comments once she's out of sight.

"Kind of?" Stiles scoffs. "I'm terrified of her in the best way possible. Don't you need to go to school too?"

"Oh, man," Scott groans. "Harley, wait up!" Stiles snickers as he jogs after her.

"Loser." He flinches as a pinecone hits him in the forehead. "OW!"

Scott and Harley walk into class, each taking their respective seat.

"Scott!" Allison whispers once he sits down. "Hey, Scott!" She goes to move and sit closer to him, but before she can the substitute teacher walks in.

"I'm afraid your teacher was feeling ill today, and had to leave early. So, unfortunately, you're stuck with me as a substitute," the sub explains, staring down both Allison and Scott.

This must be Allison's mom, Harley realizes.

"Can anyone catch me up to speed on where we are? Mr. McCall, how 'bout you?" Mrs. Argent asks. Harley and Allison glance at each other then quickly look away. Harley turns her attention to look out the window. She's afraid this is going to get ugly.

A few hours later, Scott and Harley go to the hospital to talk to Danny.

"You sure everything's okay between you and Jackson?" Scott asks as Danny changes out of his gown and gets dressed. Harley is hovering in the doorway as the two boys talk.

"Yeah, everything's fine," Danny confirms. He digs through his wallet and sighs. "Did the cops have to take my fake I.D?" Harley snickers as Danny shoots her a glare.

"You didn't do anything to make him angry?" Scott asks, ignoring Danny's complaints.

"How angry?" Danny chuckles.

"On a scale of one to ten--one being 'kind of irritated,' and ten 'wanting to kill you violently.'"

"Jackson's kind of always at a four, but we're good. I was actually doing him a favor." Harley straightens up and steps farther into the room.

"A favor?" she asks.

"What favor?" Scott elaborates.

"I was fixing a video for him. I put it on my tablet. Which is in the trunk of my car, and probably still at the club," Danny realizes.

"What was on the video?" Scott asks.

"I'm not really supposed to say."

"Danny, what would you say if I told you this could be a matter of life and death?"

"I'm not supposed to say."

"At least he's loyal," Harley mutters. Scott glares at her from the corner of his eye. "Oops, forgot about wolf hearing." She cringes. "Sorry."

"Okay," Scott sighs. He notices Danny rifling through his wallet, and his head perks up. "What if I told you you can get your fake I.D back?" Suddenly, Scott is grasping Harley's wrist and tugging her into a jog next to him.

"Scott, watch-" Harley tries to warn him, but it's too late when they run into his mom.

"While I think you being here to check in on your friend is all sorts of commendable, I've gotta play tough mom right now, even though I'm not very good at it," Mrs. McCall says.

"Right now?" Scott asks.

"Yes, right now! I got a call from your principal. You're failing two classes."

"I'm just gonna..." Harley gestures vaguely toward the doors and starts to walk away, but Scott tugs her back.

"No, just wait," he tells her, then turns his attention back to his mom. "I-I know. And that's why I'm studying with Stiles right now. And with Harley. See, she's right here." He points at Harley who gives an awkward wave.

"Do you know that if you fail even one of your midterms they're gonna hold you back?" Mrs. McCall scolds him, then smiles at Harley. "Also, hello, sweetheart, nice to meet you. I wish it would've been under better circumstances. Scott hasn't mentioned you before."

"Likewise," Harley smiles unsurely. "And I'm, uh, new to the group."

"He said that?" Scott asks, turning the attention back to him.

"Yes," Mrs. McCall confirms. "All of your friends are gonna be juniors, while you're still a sophomore. Do you understand, Scott? You cannot fail."

"I know."

"Okay." Scott's mom steps to the side and allows the two to pass. Scott hangs his head as he walks, obviously disappointed in himself. Harley hesitates, unsure of what to do, then ultimately grabs his hand. It's what her dad always did when she was upset. She barely knows Scott, and she doesn't know if she has crossed a line, but when he squeezes back she knows she did the right thing. She smiles softly to herself. Maybe she'll actually end up with a friendship or two after this.

**A/N dunno why I updated so often today but yeah:))