Til The Dawn [Midnights #1] ✓

chapter 57

"Did you know that Beacon Hills High was built on an internment camp?"

"Oh my God, Stiles," Lydia groaned, "not right now, okay? I love you, but my head is pounding. I do not want a history lesson."

"You love me?"

"That's what you heard?" Allison snickered.

As they bickered playfully, Scott remained silent. He wasn't brave enough to say a word. He was afraid his voice would betray all the emotion currently trapped inside him, rattling the cage of his heart and clambering its way up his throat in a vain attempt to escape past his lips.

He couldn't let it. He didn't want to remind them of what they'd seen. He didn't want them to be scared of him, least of all Allison. And while the way they were all acting right now really was better than anything he could have ever hoped for, almost dreamlike in its quality, he knew better than to trust it too.

Scott didn't deserve the kindness the universe was showing him.

"Maybe it was a ghost," Stiles tried again.

"Okay, but ghosts can't kill people, Stiles. And Mr. Harris was very dead," Jackson argued.

"Maybe that was a trick too. Maybe he made it outside and has been smoking. Maybe he tried to get back in and all the doors were locked."

"This whole time?" Lydia offered. "And what? When he realized he couldn't get in, he just went home and left us inside by ourselves? I mean, he's a woefully inadequate chemistry teacher, but he's not that dumb."

"Nice word choice, Lyd," Stiles commended her. "Very fancy."

"Nice deflection," Isaac quipped.

Stiles stuck his tongue out at him. "It could be a trick, though. That guy, or whatever it was, totally threw a table at us, right? No hands or anything. Like picked it up with his mind. Can we all agree on that?"

"Okay, fine," Jackson assented. "But I don't think Mr. Harris made it through... that."

He shivered involuntarily as he remembered the state he had found the man in. A state he had described in vivid detail to Derek as he had rushed off to confirm their worst fears and investigate the scene. A scene Stiles felt was still active and Derek should not disturb, which he totally did despite protests from Stiles.

"Magic?"

"You think it's magic?" Allison asked.

Stiles shrugged. "Could be. Let's ask Derek," he said, pointing to him as he rejoined the group. "Derek, I was just saying that... Uh, what are you doing?"

Derek had his hands on both sides of Stiles' face, staring into his super perplexed eyes. "You said that thing threw a table at you."

"Uh-huh."

"Did it hit you? Are you hurt?"

He began to run his hands along Stiles' sides, inspecting him thoroughly. In turn, Stiles squirmed to get away from him, giggling wildly as Derek found the more ticklish parts of Stiles.

"Stop it. I'm fine," Stiles said, batting Derek's hands away. "What is wrong with you?"

"Nothing. But I need to know what to tell the paramedics when you get here. I'm worried the adrenaline... hold still, Stiles. I'm worried the adrenaline is going to wear off and you're going to pass out on me."

Stiles found his way behind Isaac, using him as a shield. And Allison let out a snort of laughter as she watched them, putting her head on Scott's shoulder and yawning wide. Maybe Derek wasn't too off with this whole adrenaline thing, Scott decided. Allison looked dead on her feet.

"I'm fine," Stiles repeated. "And you called a goddamn ambulance? That means my dad'll be here in a second. He's going to be freaking out."

"He should be," Derek pressed. "You almost died, Stiles."

"Yeah, well, I didn't and I almost die, like, once a week. I am fine."

"You are not fine, actually. I can smell the blood."

"It's not me," Stiles offered, peering out from behind Isaac, pointing to his whole body. "Maybe you're smelling Mr. Harris."

"It's not Mr. Harris," Derek returned. "It's fresh blood. Blood still flowing, Stiles. Just let me see."

"Isaac, save me," Stiles begged.

"From the Beta? Not a chance, man."

"Rude."

Scott couldn't help himself as he held his breath, wondering when Stiles or Derek or even Isaac would say the wrong combination of words and it would hit one of the others not in their pack that there were at least two werewolves among them.

He wanted to yell at them to shut the fuck up. They needed to be concentrating on whatever had happened to them inside. And why. They needed to be discussing how to get their story straight for Stiles' dad because there was no way in hell they could be honest about what went down in there. They'd be in Eichen in half an hour.

Suddenly, the sound of sirens, still pretty far off, met Scott's ears, and he noticed that both Derek and Isaac perked up as well. And then Isaac had his hands over his ears as Scott fought to do the same. Derek, however, seemed undisturbed as what felt like every single emergency vehicle in Beacon Hills was headed their direction.

Maybe you got used to the noise, Scott reasoned, even though you could hear it better than everyone else. Combined. Yeah, it was possible you reached a point when you could resemble a human so well you might as well be one too. Even if your strength and heightened senses made that impossible.

"Can we talk about how the door definitely had a chain on it?" Jackson piped up. "And then it was just... gone."

"I saw one," Lydia added.

"Yeah, me too," Allison said.

Derek shrugged, still trying to get his hands on Stiles. "We can worry about that tomorrow. They'll give you the day off, I'm sure."

"Just one day? We saw a dead body," Jackson said. "I think that deserves at least three."

"If you want to negotiate with Gerard, you're more than welcome."

"I got this," Lydia offered, squaring her shoulders. "I'll turn on the waterworks and he'll get so uncomfortable, he'll give me whatever I want."

"You guys have a sick sense of humor," Stiles complained. "Our teacher just died and you're worried about how many days you get off school?"

"Okay, first, it wasn't a joke," Jackson said. "And second, we're all fucked up, okay? The options here are huge amounts of trauma or small town loser. I mean, look at us." He scoffed as if to prove his point before motioning to each of them as he rattled off their respective trauma. "Lydia's parents made her an adorable yet terrifying genius who is borderline mental."

"Hey!"

"Mine are both dead," he continued, barely flinching as she swatted his arm. "Stiles' mom died. Scott's dad left. Isaac's dad is... you know. And Derek lost his whole fucking family in a fire. And he thought his girlfriend was murdered for, like, a decade."

"Oh my God, Kate!"