Burning Slowly

Chapter 17

Lydia stood just inside the back doors. She tapped her foot impatiently waiting for Scott and Jackson to get themselves presentable. She had grabbed towels from the bathroom and thrown them outside. She was not going back out there while they were naked and screaming at each other.

The only saving grace of the situation was that Allison and Stiles were already gone. She had sent them ahead so that Allison could give Stiles a few dance lessons at the club before Derek got there. Derek was powerful and masculine. He was an adult. She doubted he would be lured in by Stiles if all he did on the dance floor was nod his head and shake his fists in circles like he was in the midst of an epileptic fit.

She had created him a new look, but clothes and accessories were good only if the person could make them work. A prop was just a prop; it took an actor to give it life. She had set the stage, she had assembled the players, she had dressed the star, but she couldn't move him, couldn't talk for him. Unfortunately, Stiles would have to do some of it on his own. Either that or he would have to fall back on clumsy and adorable. It was in his wheelhouse, but that didn't mean it would work.

Lydia sighed. She hated to be kept waiting. She had no idea what she had done in order to be forced to continually stumble upon boys touching each other. She wasn't against it; she was practically trying to put Derek's dick in Stiles's mouth. She just hadn't been prepared to see Jackson and Scott like that.

If anything she had always assumed Jackson would come out when he finally admitted to himself that Danny was the one for him. Danny would be either crushed or elated at Jackson's cliff dive into sexy boy action. It could go either way. She didn't have enough information to predict the outcome.

Scott though, that was odd. Scott practically lived inside Allison's personal space. It took an act of truly epic proportion these days in order for him to go to the bathroom without her. He loved her so much he never wanted to be apart from her. Why was he suddenly breathing air directly out of another guy's lungs? Something didn't add up. She would solve it, she knew that she would. She just had to get all the variables first.

She glanced back at the door. There was no way to estimate the amount of time it would take for the two boys to swallow their pride, and come back inside. That meant that she had a few moments to solve the equation, and then devise a strategy to make the boys think they did it on their own.

Lydia may have opened up to Stiles, but Jackson and Scott? She shook her head and rubbed her chin thoughtfully. No. She was already trying to juggle Allison and her growing awareness of who Lydia was; she didn't have the desire to share that with a horny litter of puppies. More than that she wasn't comfortable with Derek yet, some part of her associated him with his uncle. It wasn't fair exactly, but Peter had nearly killed her and now Derek was in control of that power.

Something clicked in her mind. She rolled it around for a moment, catalogued it, and kept thinking. She heard raised voices from outside.

"I don't know what the hell that was!" Jackson yelled.

"Dude, you basically raped me!" Scott yelled back.

Something smashed into the side of the house. Lydia sighed. Boys were so violent.

"You grabbed my junk first!" Jackson countered.

"You practically dry humped me while trying to put me in a sleeper hold!"

Lydia couldn't help, but giggle at that. Scott sounded so scandalized. She wondered if they'd been drinking.

"You kissed me!" Jackson's accusation made it sound like the greater offense by far.

"You held me down and gave me a blowjob!" Scott's voice raised an octave.

"It's not my fault! I was flipping out. I spent all day in a trance. At one point I was running back and forth around the beach like a headless chicken. Besides, I'm pretty sure I didn't jack myself off." Jackson was beginning to sound more confused and less angry.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Scott asked.

Lydia considered that. What did it have to do with anything? The two of them had been slightly friendlier since they'd arrived on the beach. She hadn't thought they'd been naked sexy times friendly, but she wasn't around them all the time.

"I wish I knew!" Jackson shouted.

There was a pause, or the conversation dropped in volume enough that she couldn't hear them anymore. Why would Jackson flip out? Why would he run around the beach? No one had explored the beach very much besides Stiles despite the fact that they were supposed to be there on a vacation, the irony of which was not lost on her. Jackson had been odd this entire trip, particularly since the drive up. He seemed nearly as angry as Derek.

Something else clicked in her mind. She almost had it. Jackson was almost as angry as Derek on the ride up. Derek had been angry at Stiles because he wouldn't be quiet. At one point Jackson had practically attacked Stiles. He'd knocked her phone on the floor. She'd considered skinning him alive, but kept her temper in check. It was like Jackson was mirroring what Derek was feeling.

She had it. She had it all. She knew what was going on. When they were in the school, Peter, as the Alpha, had compelled Scott to try to kill them. What if Derek was unconsciously compelling Jackson? What if Derek wasn't as in control of his new power as he appeared?

That would mean...

"Oh no..." Lydia shook her head. Things were about to get bad if she was right. She was almost always right, but for the first time in her life she wanted to be wrong. She didn't want to think about the consequences of what would happen if she was right.

They had to get to the warehouse before Derek did. She'd already told him what time to be there. The party they were going to, it was on the edge of town. There wasn't going to be any security, no bouncers. It wouldn't matter if there were. They wouldn't have been able to stop Derek if he lost control. If he saw Allison or anyone else with their hooks in the new sexier looking Stiles, things could get very ugly.

They had to go. They had to go fast. Even though she'd solved the equation she couldn't help but feel like she was missing one more thing. It was like she had rounded it instead of mapping it exactly. She didn't have any more time though, for all she knew Derek could already be tearing the warehouse down brick by brick. So many people, they wouldn't have anywhere to run.

Lydia pulled out her phone. She needed to warn Allison before it was too late. She didn't have time for the boys to sort out whatever it was that had happened. They needed to get to the warehouse. Jackson and Scott were the only ones who could keep Derek from hurting anyone.

"Jackson! Scott! We have a problem!" Lydia didn't like how stressed she sounded. She took a deep breath. "Get in here right now!" She shook her head as they came through the door with towels wrapped around their waists. "Get dressed fast!"