No Way Out | Teen Wolf & The Vampire Diaries

Chapter 23

The usual bustle and sweaty smell of teenage boys fills the locker room. I stand beside Stiles tiredly, both of us propped up by our lacrosse sticks.

"Good morning! In less than an hour, aircraft from here will be joining others from around the world... and you will be launching the largest aerial battle in the history of mankind," Coach booms, undertones of excitement in each word he says.

Does this speech sound familiar to you, I wonder? It's certainly not original, if you get what I mean...

"Mankind — that word should have new meaning for all of us today."

"Hey, what about womankind, Coach??" I chip in, snickering, "It's the twenty-first century, you're supposed to be inclusive here."

Stiles nudges me, amused. Mrs McCall looks bewildered, raising her eyebrows at Scott when he laughs.

Undeterred, Coach continues, "We are fighting for our right to live!"

"Yeah!" a player shouts, punching the air with his fist from somewhere at the back. I think that was Taylor. Or Greenberg, considering he's a suck-up... especially with Coach.

"Wait, is this...?" Mrs McCall trails off, looking between the three of us dubiously.

"Yeah," Stiles answers, "It's the speech from Independence Day."

"But, as the day the world declared in one voice—"

"It's Coach's favorite movie," Stiles explains. Mrs McCall shakes her head, stuck between amused and confused.

"We will not go quietly into the night!"

I mean, his attitude is admirable. Remembering the whole speech? That's some serious dedication right there. Dedication to what, I'm not too sure.

"He doesn't know any sports speeches?"

"I don't think he cares," Stiles replies.

"Today, we celebrate our Independence Day!"

"YEAH!" we all shout in unison, thrusting our lacrosse sticks in the air.

"Well spoken, Coach," Gerard chimes in, "I might have chosen something with a little more historical value, but there's no denying your passion. And, while I haven't been here long, there's no denying my pride in having a winning team for this school. I know you'll all be brilliant tonight, even with only one co-captain leading you. Now, I'm your principal, but I'm also a fan... So, don't think I'll be content to watch you merely beat this team. Get out there and murder them."

I shiver at his last two words. They're ominous. Menacing.

"You heard the man!" Coach yells, "Asses on the field!"

Scott hangs back to talk to Coach as Stiles, Mrs McCall and I file out of the locker room with everyone else. Scott's been benched.

I walk beside Jackson to my position on the field, extremely wary of him abruptly turning into the Kanima.

No Isaac, no Scott. Great, just fantastic. How are we going to win without two of our better players?

I look over to the stands as the other team huddles, ready for a pep talk from their coach.

Stiles and Scott are sitting side-by-side on the bench, chatting seriously. Mrs McCall is sitting beside Mr Stilinski, who waves at me. I smile widely and wave back. No Gerard or Allison in sight.

After chatting to Coach, Stiles strolls onto the field, looking slightly starstruck. I slide a glove over my right hand and fix the velcro strap before waving at him, happy he has the chance to play. He grins. Mr Stilinski leaps out of his seat, cheering for Stiles. I love this father-son duo.