CHAOS BACK AGAIN

14

stiles

Stiles stared at the blank piece of paper in front of him, his mind swirling with thoughts that had nothing to do with idioms or metaphors. Ms. Blake's voice was just background noise, blending with the buzz of the classroom. He couldn't stop thinking about the Mikaelsons, the chaos in Beacon Hills, and the way things were spiraling out of control.

It felt like everything was happening all at once, Kol, the Alpha Pack, the Darach. And here he was, stuck in class, trying to pretend everything was normal while the supernatural world outside was anything but. He glanced at Lydia, who was calmly sketching a tree instead of taking notes. How did she always manage to look so composed?

"Idioms are something of a secret to the people that know the language or the culture," Ms. Blake's voice cut through his thoughts as she walked toward him.

Stiles froze as she stopped in front of his desk. He felt her eyes on him, but he was still half-lost in his own head.

"They're phrases that only make sense if you know key words," Ms. Blake continued, clearly addressing him now. "Like saying 'Jump the gun.' It's meaningful if you know about the starting gun in a race. Or a phrase like, 'seeing the whole board.'"

"Like chess," Stiles mumbled, barely realizing he'd spoken out loud.

She smiled. "That's right, Stiles. You play?"

"Uh, no, my father does," he answered, feeling a little stupid. His voice was flat, weighed down by everything crowding his brain.

He barely noticed Scott leaning over until he felt a nudge. "I think we can get to Ethan," Scott whispered, his voice low but insistent. "I'm pretty sure I can make him talk."

Stiles blinked, focusing on his best friend. "Why do you want him to do that for? We already know what Deucalion wants."

Scott shook his head. "No, not about me. Look, the druids are emissaries, right? So what if the Darach was an emissary to the Alphas?"

Stiles raised an eyebrow, his brain kicking into gear despite his earlier fog. "Okay, first of all, I can't believe that we have gotten to the point where a sentence like: 'What if the Darach is an emissary to the Alphas,' actually makes any kind of sense. And second, yeah, Ethan might talk, but we're going to have a problem getting to him."

Scott leaned in, clearly not seeing the issue. "What's that?"

Stiles sighed, rubbing his forehead. "Going through Aiden," he said with exasperation. "Ever since they came back to school, they're always together. How are we going to separate them again?"

Scott paused, clearly not having considered that. The twins were basically glued to each other these days. Aiden would never let Ethan out of his sight. But then something flickered across Scott's face—a spark of an idea.

Stiles caught it too. It hit them both at the same time. There was someone who could get Aiden away from Ethan, someone who could manipulate him with ease. Slowly, they both turned to look over at Lydia.

Lydia was still doodling on her paper, completely unaware of the silent plan forming between them. She glanced up and saw the expressions on their faces, her brow furrowing in suspicion.

"What now?" she asked, exasperated, narrowing her eyes at them.

Stiles leaned back in his chair, smirking slightly. This was going to be interesting.

"Lydia," he began, his tone innocent—too innocent. "How do you feel about taking one for the team?"

Lydia sighed, already sensing where this was going. "I swear, if this involves anything stupid, I'm going to "