PLAYER | DEREK HALE

Lunatic

This morning, I woke up to the shrill sound of my alarm clock blaring, announcing the start of another week. As the mechanical voice filled the room, I groaned inwardly:

"A beautiful Monday morning. Beacon Hills High School is back open after being closed Thursday and Friday. Police search continues for alleged killer Derek Hale—"

In a fit of irritation, I picked up the alarm clock and hurled it at the wall, but it flew through the open door and landed in the hallway instead. Sitting up, I realized my mom was standing in the doorway, the alarm clock now resting at her feet.

"Maybe it didn't hit the wall, but I almost injured my mom," I thought, groaning and collapsing back onto my bed.

"Not ready to go back, are you?" my mom asked, her tone sympathetic.

I groaned louder in response, burying my face in my pillow.

"Do you want to stay home another day?" she asked gently.

"No," I mumbled into the pillow. I caught sight of her in the corner of my eye as she walked towards my bed, so I sat up again.

"Jay, don't worry about that night, okay? Just try to make it through today. Everything will be perfectly normal, and you won't even remember what happened," she said, trying to reassure me. She gave me a kiss on the forehead before walking out. "Love you, Jay!"

"Love you, Mom!" I replied, forcing a smile. But if only she knew why I was acting this way.

I dragged myself out of bed, walked to the bathroom, and got ready. I picked out a faded maroon top with sleeves that reached my elbows, denim jeans, and a pair of boots. After making my hair wavy, I grabbed my bag and headed to school.

Arriving at school, I saw Lydia and Allison standing together, so I walked over to them.

"Hey!" I greeted them.

Both smiled and returned the greeting.

"What's weird is that everyone's talking about what happened the other night, but no one knows it was us," Allison said.

"Thank you for the protection of minors," Lydia quipped, rolling her eyes.

"Do you think I made the wrong decision?" Allison asked, looking worried.

"About that jacket with that dress? Absolutely," Lydia replied with a smirk.

"I think she means breaking up with Scott," I said, giving Allison a reassuring smile.

"Hello, Scott locked us in a classroom and left us for dead. He's lucky we're not pressing charges or making him pay for my therapy bills," Lydia said, and I couldn't help but laugh.

"I know my brother is a complete idiot for lying to you and everyone else, but he did it to protect you. Actually, he did it to protect all of us," I explained. Allison smiled at me gratefully. "Just give him some time. He's a boy; they're all idiots. He'll come around and tell the truth eventually. Anyway, I have to go. Bye!"

With that, I headed down to my locker.

The day dragged on. In chemistry, Scott had a panic attack, which was distressing since I couldn't leave the classroom to help him. Thanks, Mr. Harris.

Later, I found myself in the boys' locker room, ignoring the whistles and comments from the boys as I searched for Scott and Stiles.

"Hey," I said, startling Stiles.

"Stop doing that, honestly," he said, clutching his chest. I laughed, and Scott smiled.

I sat on a bench, engrossed in my book, when Coach blew his whistle. I ignored it, hoping to avoid attention.