The Wild Side | Stiles Stilinski | One

37 - Party Favours

When Scott and I pulled up to the school, the parking lot was packed. Newly washed cars were everywhere, and people were still filing into the building in pairs or groups. Sparkling beads had been hung over the school doorway, catching the light of the large stars that were being projected onto the building. Large columns of blue and white balloons lined the path up to the door, and the people manning the student council table on the sidewalk looked like they had their hands full collecting tickets. Busy was good. The longer the staff was busy with the crowd, the easier it would be to sneak Scott in.

I threw the car into park on the outer edge of the parking lot, peering out the windshield at the staggering amount of decorations.

"Well, this certainly beats the last time we spent the night at school."

"Tell me about it," Scott laughed. I turned the car off and reached to take my seatbelt, only to have him shout. "Oh, wait! Hang on!"

I froze, looking around for the problem as Scott scrambled to unfasten his seatbelt. He leapt out of the car and slammed the door behind him, then jumped clear over the car so he could open the driver's side door for me. He gave me a cheesy grin, and I shook my head.

"What a gentleman," I complimented, accepting Scott's hand so he could help me out of the car.

He shrugged off the praise and shut the door behind me. "Figured it's only fair, considering you've gotta open the door for me now."

"Right. Chemistry room on the top floor, right?"

"Yeah. I just need you to get up the stairs and open the roof door for me."

He turned away, ready to bolt through the shadows to the fire escape, but I grabbed his arm at the last moment.

"Woah, woah, wait! This is the door where you had to steal the key from the janitor? The one we couldn't get through and got trapped until the cops showed up? That door?"

"Oh, right!" Scott pulled a gold key out of his pocket and pushed it into my hands. He smiled proudly. "Stiles and I stole it during free period."

"Of course you did. Criminal masterminds, the pair of you."

Getting Scott into the building was a lot easier than I'd anticipated. After I'd handed in my ticket and walked through the doors, I was pretty much free to go wherever I wanted...which was appalling security considering we'd nearly been murdered on campus a few weeks prior. I walked in the direction of the nearest bathroom, glanced around, then walked right past it and ducked into the stairwell. Minutes later, I was letting Scott in through the roof door, and we made our way down to the gymnasium.

If the outside of the school had looked impressive, the inside was truly magical. How student gov't had scraped together enough money for the setup was beyond me. Large curtains of fabric framed the dance floor, hanging in a circle and running into the center, where they peaked above a glittering disco ball. Tall cylinder lights hung from the ceiling, along with several sets of sweeping stage lights that bathed the room in a rapidly changing glow of pinks, purples, and blues. Tables were arranged around the dance floor where groups could sit and chat, and couples could take a break from dancing. A live band played at the far side of the dance floor, playing an interesting mix of live and recorded music that I would not have expected of a high school dance. It was all just...baffling.

"Come on," I offered, grabbing Scott's arm. "Gotta keep you out of Finstock's line of sight."

The heavy beat of the dance music urged me to fight my way onto the dance floor and join the fray, but we walked in the opposite direction. I tugged Scott high up into the bleachers, hiding in the shadows where we could keep an eye on our friends. Scott stayed on the edge of his seat, elbows leaning on his knees in nervous anticipation. I, on the other hand, propped my feet up and leaned back against the row behind us in a bored, unladylike manner that would have made Lydia cringe.