The Wild Side | Stiles Stilinski | One

25 - Sparks Fly (For Better Or Worse...)

When Monday morning rolled around, I was feeling marginally more prepared for school. Target practice with Allison and Kate had given me the confidence boost I needed to manage my anxiety...and I had a lot of anxiety...

Much to my surprise, Natalie and my mother had agreed that Lydia could continue driving us to school so long as we adhered to the new check-in policy. We now had a group text with all four of us, which consisted almost exclusively of the words "leaving now," "here," and "be safe." Lydia complained the entire way to school but, as I reminded her, at least we didn't have to do hourly check-ins anymore. That had been a nightmare.

I was just sending my "here" text to my mom when I recognized the huge red Tahoe pulling up in front of the school.

"Hey there, Scarlett," Kate greeted as I jogged up to the passenger door. "Looking pretty chipper for a trauma survivor."

I grinned, but before I could get out a proper greeting, Allison's head popped up between the front seats. "Scarlett, please tell my dad that he has to let me out of the car."

"Oh, um..." I raised my eyebrows, but quickly composed my face into a stern scowl. "Mr. Argent. You have to let Allison out of the car."

It got a chuckle out of Kate, but Mr. Argent shook his head, his eyes sliding past me to the school doors, now flanked by on-duty guards.

"Kate, what's your opinion on home schooling?" he asked finally.

"Hm, well, you know I'm more of a learning-by-doing girl."

She shot me a wink, and I had to stifle my laugh. Last night's outing had definitely proven that.

"What's your opinion on overprotective dads who keep ruining their daughter's lives?" Allison inquired from the back. Kate pretended to think about it, then reached over her brother to unlock the car. Allison leapt for the door before her father could retaliate. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. And you," Kate added jabbing a finger at me through the window, "stay out of trouble. Good luck with your boy toy."

I groaned, tipping my head back. "Ugh, it is way too early for this!"

She snickered, and Allison looped her arm though mine to lead me into the ultra-protected school building.

"Thanks for taking me out yesterday," she said as we walked to my locker. "It was really nice of you to set that up with Kate."

"Hey, my pleasure," I replied, exchanging my notebooks and folders. I was still reveling at having the use of both my arms again. "Besides, before you two started annoying the crap out of me, I was having a blast. Kate's a lot of fun."

"She is," Allison laughed. "You better be careful, though. Too much time at my house and she'll start dragging you to the range twice a week for boot camp."

"Hey, with what happened the other night? That might not be a bad thing."

"I know..." Allison's face fell as I closed my locker. "The thing is, I feel safe at the range, but I can't exactly bring my compound bow everywhere I go. I don't want to be like, paranoid, but...I also never want to feel that vulnerable again."

I nodded in understanding, mulling it over as we walked down the hall to Allison's locker. I'd completely frozen that night at the school, and I'd never been so terrified. Sure, I'd come up with a trick or two to scrape through alive, but brains could only get me so far. Locked in that chemistry room, I'd been acutely aware of how vulnerable we were, with just a door and a Molotov cocktail between us and the monster outside.

I'd meant what I'd said to Stiles; we hadn't been useless, but that didn't mean we weren't at a disadvantage. That was one of the reasons I was so hesitant to push Kate away. She knew how to protect herself against the supernatural, even though she was a mortal human being. It didn't scare her anymore. If I could gain a fraction of her experience, maybe I'd be a step closer to the confidence I was so desperate to achieve.